Evolution Personified
by HobTheRobot
Summary: The continuing adventures of Alex Mercer throughout the multiverse. 40% Nightmare Fuel, 30% Biomass, 20% Mad Scientist, 10% Living Weapon, and 100% Evolution. After the first few chapters it's just a bunch of story ideas and shorts, good ones I hope.
1. Chapter 1

Before anything else, I would just like to say that I own nothing in this story, even the stuff I think I made up probably belongs to someone else. I am definitely not awesome enough to own the little song Alex sings later, anyone who doesn't know where it's from should be ashamed of themselves, the song is from Trigun. There is one other thing from Trigun in here, see if you can spot it. (If you can't see it you should probably have your eyes checked.)

Notes: 1. Alex is not unstoppable, if he seems to be, it is only because he is thinking and planning out his moves in advance.

2. If Alex numbers a unit just before, or right after, killing it that means he consumed it. He obviously consumes other units besides the ones he numbers, but I wanted it to be clear without having to point it out too much when he was consuming certain units.

3. If anyone is having an off day and can't figure it out: LWMD is, Living Weapon of Mass Destruction.

4. Alex is insane, that's all there is to it, and it would be ridiculous to expect him to be otherwise. Think about what he is. Now think about how he came to be, and what the first three weeks of his life were like. Now add to his other issues the fact that this version of Alex has been hanging around for five-hundred years with very little to do for the vast majority of that time. There will be points in this story that make it clear just how up the wall, round the bend, off his rocker, bat shit crazy Alex is, do not complain about it just because you don't think he would have lost his mind somewhere along the road. ( In relation to the fact that Alex is completely out of his mind, if the text appears like _**This**_, it means that, unless stated otherwise, everyone in the area is hearing him in their head.)

Evolution Personified

The Universe, it's not the sort of place you want to get lost in, roughly one-hundred billion galaxies (At last count), each made up of at least two-hundred billion stars, each star orbited by anywhere from no planets at all up to a dozen or more, then there are the asteroids, meteors, moons, black holes, nebulae, and other assorted celestial bodies to worry about. All in all the Universe is the last place you want to be lost in, but of course it can't always be avoided. So here we find Alex Mercer, the Blacklight Virus, Evolution Personified, staring up at an unfamiliar sky on a planet 60,000 light-years from earth, he was without a doubt lost and only had one thought on the subject at that moment.

"Well, this is annoying."

On an unimportant planet on the fringe of the Koprulu Sector an artificial warp rift had just spat out a very irate abomination of science before closing, effectively trapping the walking murder machine light-years from home, such as it was, with no idea where he was or how to get back, not that he had a reason to go back, humans aren't known for having particularly long lives, the one human who had truly accepted him had died centuries ago.

"Alright, guess there's nothing else to do but walk, well that and wonder why I bother talking out loud, certifiably insane or not, talking to yourself is never a good sign." Alex sighed, a habit he had picked up more from boredom then anything else. He began walking down the empty and poorly maintained road he had landed near, which way was irrelevant since he had no idea which way was north, or even if that would be important on this planet.

Five minutes prior to the arrival of the single most frightening product of human folly in the history of the species, a Terran Outpost at the end of one lonely and poorly maintained stretch of road, detected a spike in energy, it was quickly identified as a warp rift, the only problems with this were of course that it was far to small, and more distressingly, it was only a few feet off the surface of the planet.

"Are you absolutely certain that it was a warp rift?" The base commander was not liking what his science officer was telling him.

"Yes sir, while it was far to small, and to close to the surface, there is no doubt that the anomaly was a warp rift. Should we send a team to investigate?" The woman who had at first been glad she was assigned somewhere unlikely to see any full scale battles was decidedly less pleased to be present when something new like this was happening.

"No." If there was a chance this was a trick by some rebel group, or some new tactic of the swarm, the commander didn't want to lower the bases already sub-standard defenses. "Call in all patrols, send the data on the anomaly to all other planet side outposts and tell them to keep their eyes open. Contact HQ and let them know we may have a problem, and request reinforcements."

Miles from the frantically active base, Alex Mercer was getting very tired of the desert landscape, it offered little distraction from his current problem and he hadn't seen one living thing big enough to even consider eating. "I officially hate this planet. At least Earth had things to do besides stare at rocks and holes in the ground." Alex sighed again" I almost miss Black Watch . . . Well, maybe I spoke to soon, although that I'm speaking at all is still unsettling."

The source of the LWMD's changed mood was the group of twelve very unusual creatures heading his way at a fairly decent speed, nearly Olympic sprinter speeds, all the more impressive since these creatures were maintaining that speed with no apparent trouble. The creatures were fairly small, relative to a hunter anyway, about the size of a large dog, they appeared to be a cross between an insect and a lizard, an exoskeleton like shell and scales covering their bodies. The "bug-lizards" appeared bipedal, running on two muscular back legs, while a slightly smaller set of limbs was held close to their stomach, both front and rear appendages ended in sharp claws. The creatures had no lips, or anything similar, covering their rows of razor-like teeth, and just above their "sadistic smiles" were a set of orange eyes that seemed to glow faintly.

Alex couldn't say it surprised him in the least when the creatures attacked him the moment they noticed him. From their feet and tails, to the second set of "arms" on their backs which ended in scythe-like claws, and even the seemingly vestigial wings, it was clear what these things were, Alex knew a living weapon when he saw it, after all "Takes one to Know one".

The first creature to reach Alex leapt at him, hissing and opening its mouth clearly meaning too take a bite out of him. _"Well who am I to deny it a last request?"_ Alex immediately shoved his fist, and most of his left arm, down the monsters throat, and morphed several small blades, about the size of butcher knives, along the limb, tearing the things insides to shreds. As soon as it was fatally wounded Alex extended tendrils into its body and consumed it, before his viral nature could begin what he had come to think of as an "automatic upgrade sequence", he encapsulated the biomass and genetic codes of the creature in a sort of "pearl" within his body, so that he could deal with the remaining threats before taking a look at what precisely he had just eaten.

The remaining eleven creatures hesitated for only the briefest moment after seeing one of their number ripped apart, before they changed tactics and resumed their attack. They began to try and flank him, doing everything they could to avoid attacking him head on.

_"Gotta give them some credit, even after thirty years Black Watches' goons never seemed to figure out that a frontal attack was suicide, these things caught on after one failure. Guess I should consume at least half of them, get more samples of their genetics to work with."_ Alex smirked, something he hadn't done much since Dana had died.

One of the creatures jumped at him from behind while another charged in low aiming to cripple his legs. Alex jumped into the air spinning as he did so, his right foot connected with the one on the ground sending it tumbling across the cracked dirt, while his left fist smashed into the airborne creatures face sending it sprawling. A third alien charged at him as he landed, it obviously thought to tackle him while he was off balance, pity balance was one of his specialties. The charging creature found itself lifted into the air, a second after it realized its position it noticed the ground approaching at an alarming speed. _"Two"_ Alex mentally checked off the second creature as his tendrils ripped it to pieces and stored it with the first.

The one that had jumped at him before rushed forward at the same time as two others leapt towards him from opposite directions. Alex brought his left fist down on the charging creatures head as hard as he could, crushing it with little resistance, as he morphed his right hand into a smaller version of his standard blade. _"Three"_

Before the third alien had even began to vanish into his form, Alex turned to his left bringing his right hand up into the stomach of one of the two jumping creatures. Following through with the rotation he had started, Alex used the creature impaled on his right arm to bludgeon the other jumper to the ground before stomping on its head. _"Four and Five"_

Much to Alex's surprise, one of the creatures he had taken his eyes off of had apparently burrowed underground to attack him from below. While this was an unexpected development, by no stretch did it change the tide of battle. Alex caught the creature by the tusks protruding from its face and twisted, separating the things head from its body. _"Six"_

The remaining creatures backed off and began circling, looking for an opening probably. _"Well, I've got the genetic samples I need, no reason to keep them around now."_

The zerglings were more then a little confused, as confused as members of hive mind like theirs can be anyway, when the thing that looked like a human shoved both of its' arms into the ground up to its' elbows. The last thoughts the Zerg back at the hive cluster received from the scout group were thoughts of shock and pain, though there was no indication of the cause except that they were struck from below right after the human shaped thing had punched the ground.

"Well that was somewhat entertaining." Alex barely noticed he was talking out loud again as he finished retracting the ground spikes into himself. "Now, let's see what we got from that little dance." Alex opened the shell he was holding the new biomass and genetic codes in and began to internally examine the newest additions to his collection of genetic sequences.

_"Okay, maybe this planet isn't so bad after all. Their armor's almost as tough as mine, but proportionally only half the weight, lets see what we can do with that."_ Alex began shifting his biomass as he spliced the genetic codes around looking for the best combinations. The end result was an overall upgrade to his armor, not only was it more aerodynamic, it was also only half as heavy as it had been before, restricted his movement less then it had before, and from what he could see, it was more intimidating and stable in appearance then the original form. The durability hadn't suffered for the improved weight and form either, in fact the armor was now slightly more durable because of the more flexible form it had.

_"Now let's see what we can do with those claws."_ Again shifting his biomass, Alex spliced the codes related to the creatures claws and teeth with the codes for his own claws, blade, and the blades on the whip fist. When he was finished there was no visible change in any of the weapons, but he could feel the decrease in weight, the increase in balance, and he could tell that they were even sharper then before.

"Alright, I'll leave the other things for later. Let's see what you were." If he had a face at the time, his smile would have been enough to scare an Ultralisk. All the basic information on the various types of Zerg, what the Zerg themselves are, his current location, the location of every hive cluster on the planet, all known locations of humans on the planet, and so much more was now at his disposal. "Alright I take it back, I love this planet."

It took him about eight minutes to figure out how to direct the psionic energy of the Zerg within himself, since the Zerg used it almost exclusively for communication, the zerglings had had no idea how to do anything active with it. But having figured it out himself, Alex had now directed the rather small amount of power to shielding his mind from other Zerg as well as the Terran Ghosts and any Protoss that may have otherwise detected him.

_"Now, let's pay a visit to the hive."_ Alex almost shifted back to normal just so he could smile, but since he was alone it would have been a pointless act and a waste of time, so he made a mental note to find someone to smile at later.

Alex reached the hive cluster in very little time, half the time it would have taken him before since his armor form was lighter now then it had been. He chose to watch the Zerg for awhile rather then just run in slashing at anything that moved. The hive had gone into full scale production as a result of him having killed their scout group down the road, he watched the information he had gained from the zerglings proven true as four cocoons were brought out of the Hatchery, moments later the egg-like things split open revealing eight newborn zerglings. Not far from these new soldiers he saw seven Hydralisks waiting for orders from the three Overlords hovering over the old mine where the hive cluster was located.

In less then one hour, Alex saw twenty eight zerglings born, watched four of them evolve into banelings in only minutes, he saw new drones created as well and watched them collect mineral resources from the ground and gas from the building-like creature he knew was an Extractor. He also saw the Queen patrolling near the various points around the base that would be used by conventional ground forces to attack the hive cluster, he would have to deal with the lesser units before he could go after the Queen. If he didn't move soon the hive would advance to far, there would be to many Zerg units present for him to fight without risking more then he could gain in the process, this concern was proven unnecessary moments later.

Twenty-four zerglings, followed by seven Hydralisks, with four banelings in the rear, left the base and headed down the road toward the location they lost the last scout group at, their orders were to find the creature responsible and destroy it. Alex followed the detachment of Zerg troops for a little while, when he was sure the base wouldn't be able to send reinforcements in time to help them he made his move. A well aimed boulder, about the same size and weight as the average tank, landed on one of the banelings, the impact and explosion that resulted from the creatures death stunned the remaining banelings and attracted the attention of the other Zerg present.

As the Hydralisks quickly began to search for their attacker, one of the serpent-like creatures found itself lifted into the air and carried backwards when an extremely fast moving object crashed into its' stomach, shattering its' shell and hurling it into a nearby ditch.

_"One"_ Alex began another mental checklist of his targets. The Hydralisks were to large too be completely consumed the way he could consume the zerglings, so as he had done with hunters centuries ago he absorbed the most important parts and left the rest of the body where it fell. Again encapsulating the new biomass and genetics, Alex turned and looked up at the two Hydralisks that were preparing to fire on him. _"Well then, let us dance."_

When the two Zerg fired, Alex already intended to take a few hits, it was a risk but he had to injure these two at the same time so they would be less effective when the other four were in sight. Stepping back with his right leg to avoid one of the Hydralisks attacks, he formed the whip fist on his right arm and the shield on his left, placing the latter between his body and the other set of spines.

_"Okay, going to have to avoid those in the future."_ The spines had pierced almost halfway through the shield, and while that wasn't a major problem, the fact that they were coated in an extremely acidic substance was making it hard to concentrate. Alex opened gaps in the shield so the spines would fall out and ditched the biomass that was still coated with the acid, before dismissing the shield completely and launching the whip fist toward the Hydralisk on the right, just before it could finish closing the "flaps" on the sides of it's head.

The Hydralisk shrieked and hissed when the organic blades the human shaped thing had launched at it pierced the more vulnerable flesh where its' spines were formed and fired from. The alien then swung the elongated limb the blades were attached to to its' left slamming the Hydralisk into its' "sibling", both were stunned from the force of the impact.

Alex shifted his arm back to normal just as one of the three remaining banelings came rolling down the small hill towards him, he saw another to his left and didn't even need to look to know the third was coming from his right. He quickly lifted three of the fallen Hydralisk spines that had pierced his shield and threw them at the baneling in the center of the small formation, before the spines had even reached their target, Alex jumped almost straight up about thirty feet into the air and landed almost fifty feet from the very surprised banelings, who had just rolled headfirst into one another, their collision went unnoticed because of the explosion that had occurred moments earlier.

While the two remaining banelings were stunned, Alex noted that the zerglings had managed to surround him, while the Hydralisks were quickly forming the Zerg version of a firing squad. The zerglings charged all at once, some jumping, some staying on the ground others opting for a combination of both actions, against anyone else this would have been a good tactic and would have probably brought the victim down, the reason it didn't work here was that all twenty-four zerglings were within thirty feet of the Blacklight Virus.

Over the years Alex had gotten over a few limits and flaws with his abilities, one such flaw was the build-up before a devastator. Before the Zerg even realized something was wrong, half the zerglings had been ripped apart by the Tendril Barrage that Alex had unleashed on the unfortunate creatures. One of the limits he had removed was the fact that the Tendril Barrage did not allow him to consume organic things caught in the area of effect, in moments the zerglings were gone, only smears of blood to show that they had been there at all.

Before the Hydralisks could process what they had seen, Alex launched himself at them, shifting his biomass into claws before he had covered even half the distance. _"Two"_ Alex resumed his countdown as his claws pierced the underside of one of the monsters heads, his tendrils finding their way to its' brain and tearing it apart. _"Three"_ One of the Hydras had slashed at him with its' own claws, but the attack was expected, dodged, and the Zerg found its' arms severed just before the man shaped creature slashed its' stomach open. _"Four"_ As the third Hydralisk fell another had fired a volley of spines, it had missed, and before it could register what had happened, Alex dropped down from his jump and nearly split the creature in two with his blade. _"Five"_ Alex spun to his right with the blade at an angle, decapitating one of the remaining three Hydralisks, he then reversed the direction of his spin. _"Six"_ The sixth Hydralisk died in the same manner as the fifth.

"And then there was one." Alex again would have been smiling if he had a mouth to do so with. The only remaining Hydralisk looked less then comfortable being alone with the thing that had just devastated a good sized squad of Zerg troops. But of course, Zerg aren't capable of true fear, and their self preservation instincts are near non-existent, so it was no surprise that the Hydralisk charged forward with only a moments hesitation.

"Seven." Alex shifted his arm back to normal as the last Hydralisk fell to the ground behind him. Without pausing for even a moment, he picked up one of the arms that he had cut from the third Hydralisk and jumped to his right. As soon as the still dazed banelings came into view, Alex threw the largest claw from the Hydralisks arm like a boomerang, the spinning blade severed the banelings heads from the rest of their bodies before they could register what had happened.

Rather then risk the organic bombs detonating for one reason or another, Alex used the whip fist to pull the severed portions of the banelings to him instead of walking over to get them. "Now lets see what we can do with this."

The obvious first move was to further upgrade his blade, claws, and whip fist, once that was done Alex used the Hydralisks more durable armor to further upgrade his own, though the weight decrease and durability increase was much less noticeable this time. Without at least one more sample of a banelings' genetics he couldn't complete the new weapon he had come up with, so that would have to wait.

"Alright, now this is to good too pass up." Alex was now debating whether or not he should add a mouth to his armor form just so he could smile at times like this. Shifting biomass and splicing the Hydralisk genetics around, Alex created a new weapon, the barb launcher. The change to his arms wasn't nearly as noticeable as with the other weapon forms, it just looked like his forearms had gotten a bit bulkier, like he had started to shift to muscle mass and stopped halfway, but if you looked closer, which would not be a very smart thing to do, you would see five spines about the size of pencils, maybe a little thicker, sticking out of the armored plates.

Shifting his arms back to normal, Alex began sorting through the brief memories of the Zerg he had consumed, but more importantly, he directed the new psionic energy he had gained to strengthen his mental shield.

_"Now, how to deal with the hive?"_ Alex was already heading back to the Zerg base, but he knew he would need at least a basic plan before trying to take the hive down. _"The Overlords first, that way the rest will be disorganized, after that I should make sure there aren't any banelings around, they could be a problem. Once the base is in disarray I should probably take out the Queen so she can't get the rest organized again, once that's done I can mop up any lesser troops and then deal with the "buildings."_

The hive cluster was on full alert, the other hives on the planet had been informed of the intruder. There were now forty zerglings ready to move, accompanying them were twenty Hydralisks and ten Roaches, as well as ten Mutalisks circling above the strike force that had been formed. Taking aim and shifting hammer fists, Alex sprinted forward and hurled himself at the nearest Overlord.

The insectoid monstrosity didn't even have time to react. As its' shell cracked and shattered, the tendrils of the viral abomination tore the giant bugs' brain to shreds and absorbed it. The effect was obvious, every Zerg unit present faltered, they recovered in short order but they were obviously less organized with one of their Overlords dead.

Alex jumped from the falling Overlord and used the whip fist to pull himself to the next flying shrimp. Without the benefit of the momentum from the hammer throw, it took a few seconds to cut his way through the creatures shell with his blades, but in less then a minute two of the Overlords were dead, the third tried to distance itself from the monster that had just brought down its' companions, but its' attempt was in vain.

Alex again leapt from the falling corpse, this time he didn't bother pulling himself to the next target, instead he just launched a Critical Pain devastator. The focused barrage of tendrils slammed against the Overlords' head and tore through the carapace and ripped apart the targets brain. Like the Tendril Barrage, the Critical Pain devastator now allowed Alex to consume organic targets struck by the attack.

It was one thing to know what would happen, it was quite another thing to see it firsthand. Alex watched with no small hint of fascination as the Zerg base turned on itself in response to the loss of the Overlords. Alex didn't pause long, this riot wouldn't last forever, just until the Zerg's minds managed to reorganize, once the creatures were thinking straight again they would be a threat even without the Overlords influence.

While a free-for-all death-match went on around him, Alex rushed straight for the Queen, it was clear she was trying to reestablish a chain of command. Alex leaped into the air and shifted a shield on both arms, just in time to block the volley of spines fired at him by the Queen, coated in the same sort of acid as Hydralisk spines or not, it didn't matter, Alex had already created a substance that negated the effects of that particular annoyance.

Shifting his shields to claws, Alex began slashing at the Queen as soon as he was in range. The two danced back and forth, claws tearing gashes in the bodies of the two opponents. The difference between the two was that Alex healed almost instantly. Now certain he had wounded the Queen sufficiently, Alex leapt forward and buried his claws in her chest, as the Queen screamed in rage and pain six tendrils, each as big around as Alex's' arms, arced from his back and pierced the Queens armor, seeking out her more important organs, heart and brain being the main targets.

With the Queen dead and her biomass and genetics stored with what he had obtained from the Overlords, Alex redirected his efforts to finishing off the remaining Zerg units, just in time too, since those that were left were beginning to recover from the shock of losing the Overlords so abruptly. Alex rushed to the nearest Roach and cleaved it in two with his blade, a second Roach and one of the Hydralisks were ripped apart by a ground spike attack while Alex was consuming the first Roach.

One of the Roaches recovered and got a shot at the viral monster, Alex was not amused when his left hand was reduced to a semi-liquid state. Severing the damaged portion of the limb and reforming his left arm as a hammer fist, Alex closed the distance between himself and the offending Roach, before the Zerg could prepare to attack again its' head and a good portion of its' body was reduced to paste. _"Roach smoothies do not taste very good, have to remember that."_

Before Alex had finished "drinking" the Roach he had crushed, two zerglings jumped on his back and began clawing and biting at him. Four tendrils erupted from his back and tore the zerglings apart, consuming them to heal what damage he had taken so far. Aware that the Mutalisks had most likely recovered as well and would be attacking him soon, Alex decided to test his new weapon and began shifting biomass to his arms.

One of the Mutalisks had indeed recovered and was about to attack the invader, before it could launch even one glaive wurm however, it found itself blinded by a volley of spines almost exactly like those used by Hydralisks. Alex was already airborne, headed straight for the wounded Mutalisk, before reaching his target he fired another volley of ten spines from the raised armor plate on his right arm, followed by a second volley from the matching plate on his left arm.

Landing on the Mutalisks' face, Alex plunged his tendrils through its' already wounded eyes and straight to its' brain. A second Mutalisk saw this and tried to strike the enemy while it was distracted, this was only partly successful. Alex caught the surface memory of the impending attack from the Mutalisk he had just consumed, and was able to deflect the living projectile just before it hit him, immediately after this he jumped into the air and latched onto the attacker with the whip fist.

As the second Mutalisk fell, the seven still living Hydralisks began firing on what they were collectively beginning to think of as some kind of advanced rouge changeling. Alex saw the storm of spines headed his way and dashed to the side, in mid air, shifting back to his new barb launchers and returning fire. Two of the Hydralisks were down before Alex landed. Just as he had expected, one of the remaining two Roaches tried to attack him with its' claws, this proved futile, Alex dashed around the creature and lifted it into the air.

Using the captured Roach as a shield, Alex charged at the remaining Hydralisks. When he was ten feet from his goal, Alex slammed his tendrils into the underside of his struggling prisoner, consuming the Roach and shifting to his blades, Alex tore through the unprepared Zerg troops.

Alex was somewhat concerned when he saw one of the former zerglings, now a baneling, only six feet from him. Seeing a chance to acquire the missing genetics he needed, and test a risky theory in the process, Alex shift biomass into the shield and added some of the qualities of the blade to it. The baneling had just reached its' target and had triggered the detonation of its' volatile chemicals, but to the living bombs' confusion, the target did not attempt to escape, instead the creature brought a strange round limb down over its' head in the same manner it had previously used the giant blade form its' arms could take.

The now round, blade edged, shield cut through the banelings shell and separated its' head from the rest of its body. Alex consumed the severed head and braced himself, a split second later the banelings' body detonated. Alex was thrown a short distance by the blast, and had to ditch almost a whole humans' worth of biomass because of the acidic nature of the chemicals that now coated the warped and disfigured shield. Despite the loss of so much biomass, Alex had to call the experiment a success, the original shield wouldn't have survived the blast, much less lasted long enough for him to ditch the biomass covered with acid, and on top of that, he had what he needed to complete his new toy.

Before he could take the time to play with the new genetics he had acquired though, he needed to deal with the remaining Zerg. It didn't take long to take out the remaining ground forces, and only slightly longer to bring down, and consume, the Mutalisks.

Alex casually strolled into the heart of the defenseless Hatchery. The building sized creature was clearly distressed by the foreign entities presence. "When you have an infestation, it's best to deal with it at the source." Alex launched twelve large absorption tendrils into the walls and heart of the Zerg structure.

Alex stood in the center of the dying Zerg hive cluster and began looking through what he had gained from the battle, as well as what he had gained from consuming the Zerg buildings.

Shifting biomass and splicing the baneling genetics, Alex created a new weapon form, the new limb looked exactly like what it was, a grenade launcher. After testing the acidic ranged weapon, Alex began working with the Roach strain of Zerg DNA. Further improvements to his armor and claws resulted from the combination of the Roach and Queen genetics, he also gained the ability to burrow underground and move around that way. Another benefit of the Queens' DNA was an upgrade to his barb launcher, increased range and damage. Using the Roach genetics, Alex made what amounted to a variant of a flame thrower, the difference being that it fired a stream of acid.

When he had finished playing with the ground units genes, it was time to go for the air. Figuring out how the Overlords flew was the hard part, but once that was done, upgrading his glide ability was simple, he could stay airborne much longer, he didn't need to expend even the smallest amount of biomass to use the ability, and his speed wouldn't decrease at all while in motion. Really he was now just short of true flight, and while that would be okay for the time being, Alex saw no reason not to use the Mutalisks genetics to their fullest. Shifting biomass to his back, Alex rearranged his "bone structure" and grew a pair of large wings. Spreading his new limbs, Alex shot into the sky. The wings were incredibly strong and would easily allow a human to fly, but Alex weighed far more then a human, this was rendered meaningless however because the wings were working with the "anti-gravity" ability he had gained from the Overlords.

While still flying above the destroyed Zerg base, Alex began creating another weapon by combining the Mutalisks genetics with the grenade launcher he already had, the result was a rocket launcher. He still had the grenade launcher, after all there were times you needed rockets, and times you needed grenades. After an aerial test of the rocket launcher, Alex flew back to the ground and shifted his new wings and weapon away.

"Now, what about the buildings?" Alex began sifting through the genetic codes and memories of the Zerg structures. It didn't take long to use the new information to further upgrade all of his capabilities. Increased speed, durability, psionic energy level and regeneration speed, he even gained two new potential ranged abilities after looking through the gene sequences of the drone, the Impaler Tentacle from the Spine Crawler and the Seeker Spores from the Spore Crawler. Following the gene sequences he had taken from the buildings, Alex had a starting point for several new powers and weapons, but decided it would be best to get direct samples from living units rather then try to apply pure theory to create new abilities.

"Guess I should try this before I go looking for some new dance partners, wouldn't be good to try it in a combat zone and have it backfire." Alex left a good amount of psionic power in his mental barrier, but took almost half of his total reserve and began to focus it forward in a similar manner to how he directed the Critical Pain devastator, this made sense, considering that the plan was basically a psionic devastator.

Releasing the energy was the easy part, not jumping up and down like a giddy school-girl was what he had trouble with. The result of the experiment was definitely worthy of the title of Devastator. A ten foot wide, five foot deep, fifty-five foot long trench now stretched from where Alex stood to the cliff wall that bordered the old mine, there was some evidence of a slight glassing effect in the trench itself.

With new weapons and abilities, Alex was more then happy to launch himself into the air and head off toward the nearest Zerg base that had what he needed, and thought nothing of leaving the shocked five man Ghost squad to stare at the remains of the Zerg hive cluster.

Hours after the destruction of one of the smaller hive clusters on the planet, the largest of the Zerg outposts was pushing itself to maximum combat potential in order to find and deal with this new threat to the swarm. There were five Ultralisks on patrol around the base followed by five Hydralisks per Ultralisk, there were more then three hundred zerglings and just as many banelings in the hive as well, some on patrol, others burrowed at tactical locations. Twenty Roaches were positioned at each of the five ground access locations around the hive itself, each group of Roaches was accompanied by five Infestors.

Five Overlords hovered near the center of the hive cluster, while five Overseers patrolled around the edges of the base, the Overlords were guarded by ten Mutalisks each, while the Overseers each had an escort of five Mutalisks and five Broodlords. Ten un-evolved Corruptors were also awaiting orders near the Overlords.

There were five Spine Crawlers and five Spore Crawlers at each of the five entrances as well as ten more of each waiting near the center of the base, ready to move to reinforce any location that came under attack.

Alex looked down at the Zerg far below him, he was unpleasantly reminded of what Manhattan had looked like from the top of the Empire State building during the worst point during the infection. Flying straight up for a moment before reversing direction and diving down at the unsuspecting Zerg, Alex shifted his wings away and prepared a Ground Spike Graveyard and a Psionic Wave for launch, the first would be triggered when he landed, the second he was going to aim at the Overlords.

On his way to the largest Zerg cluster on the planet, Alex had adapted a new vision modification based on both his Thermal Vision and his now useless Infected Vision, using the information he had on the Zerg themselves and the mechanics of the two vision based powers, he was able to create Bio Vision. The new power allowed Alex to focus on any biological signature he had come in contact with, the result was that he could pick out individual Zerg units even from a great distance, in the future it could be used to locate other lifeforms as well. It was this new power that allowed Alex to aim for the Crawlers at the center of the base, as well as allowing him to avoid landing near any banelings, burrowed or otherwise.

Alex struck the ground like a meteor, crushing one of the Spine Crawlers by the shear force of the impact. Before any of the Zerg had even realized what was happening, Alex released the Ground Spike Graveyard devastator, the remaining Crawlers, of both types, were ripped to pieces by the organic spires that tore up through the ground beneath them, the creep didn't hinder the spikes in the least. Many of the zerglings, those burrowed and those on the surface, were also destroyed by the first strike, and even several banelings died when one of the spikes ripped a hole through one of the grotesque creatures, detonating it close to many of its fellow Zerg.

Just as the Zerg ground forces were turning to combat the threat, Alex again sprouted wings and took to the skies. While the Zerg were still processing the knowledge that their enemy could in fact fly, Alex released his new psionic devastator on the cluster of Overlords and their Mutalisk protectors. The result of this second attack was just as damaging for the Zerg as the first had been, the loss of three Overlords at the same time, while the remaining two were severely injured, combined with the deaths of twenty-seven Mutalisks and the "static" that the psionic attack had caused, put the entire base into what could only be described as panic.

Alex took full advantage of the situation and flew straight to the closest Overseer, weaving easily around the disorganized defenders, the LWMD slammed into the eye covered mass of flesh, tearing into the enormous creatures body. Alex forced his tendrils into the Overseers' main body and consumed almost half of the monstrous beings' vital organs, taking flight again as the giant corpse fell to the ground, crushing several smaller Zerg units as it landed.

Another Overseer fell before the remaining Zerg managed to get their collective thoughts straight and mount a defense. Alex responded to their defense with a volley of spines followed by a dozen rockets aimed at his aerial opponents, moments later the ground forces found themselves dodging a rain of acidic grenades. One of the Ultralisks was struck on the shoulder by one of the deadly projectiles, while this was no surprise given the creatures' size it was not a serious threat to the behemoths survival, but it did provide an opening for Alex to latch onto the wounded giant. It doesn't always help you to be the biggest guy around, the Ultralisk discovered this firsthand as it thrashed about in an attempt to dislodge the creature that was methodically tearing a large hole in its' back.

Alex took to the air once again as his latest victim fell to the ground, its' brain having be removed only moments earlier, and a few of its' other organs as well. Distracted for a moment, Alex was not surprised to be swatted out of the air for his lapse in attention towards his surroundings. Scrambling along the ground to avoid the rain of deadly living projectiles, Alex tore through several zerglings, a couple of Hydralisks, and nearly a dozen Roaches, before he managed to take cover behind the Lair at the center of the hive cluster.

Consuming some of the creep, which was really just gelatinous biomass spread over the ground, in order to heal his wounds, Alex began sprinting up the side of the creature that served as the central building of the hive. Reaching a reasonable height, Alex shot into the air once more, his next targets were the Corruptors.

The Zerg did not hesitate to fire on one of their own in an attempt to kill their enemy, ironically this is what allowed Alex to consume all of the Corruptors with little difficulty and in a very short amount of time. The remaining Ultralisks met a similar end, wounded by their own and finished off by the monster that seemed to be bent on their complete annihilation.

With the Ultralisks dead Alex shifted his focus to the Infestors, unlike their larger brethren they died quickly without taking almost any friendly-fire. With all of the Zerg ground units he had been after dead Alex quickly consumed three of each different type of Crawler before rocketing into the sky to finish the rest of his shopping.

The remaining Overseers were much more heavily defended then they had been before, the survivors from his initial attack had doubled their efforts to defend the remaining command units of the base, it was clear they knew he was targeting the Overseers, though it was debatable whether or not they understood why, and besides the units that had survived his first strike more then twenty-four new Mutalisks had just been spawned.

Alex managed to lead almost half the Mutalisks away from the Broodlords and Overseers, and once he was sure he knew what he was doing, he formed a psionic shield around himself. While the Mutalisks pounded away at the shield, Alex completed the process of adapting the impaler tentacles to his own tendrils. Once he was ready, Alex dropped the shield and showed the Zerg air force his newest ability.

Eight Impaler Tendrils lanced out from his back and began ripping through the Mutalisks, slashing, stabbing, and cutting the flying worm-like creatures to pieces. To do this Alex had to put his wings away, but he was more then capable of simply hovering in one place now that he had more practice flying, so he had no trouble staying in the air while his improved tendrils tore his enemies apart at the direction of his improved control.

Alex ripped his way past the remaining defenders and began consuming the remaining Overseers and the Broodlords. When the Overseers had fallen the hive again fell into a state of panic, Alex just began shredding the surviving air units with Impaler Tendrils. When the skies were clear, Alex repeated the process on the ground, after taking out the banelings from the air with a couple volleys of spines.

After killing off the Spine and Spore Crawlers at the ground entrances to the base, Alex decided it would be best to take down the Lair first, see as it was already attempting to create more troops to defend the hive. Before the viral entity could enter the organic structure however, he was attacked by a very angry Queen, she was not the least bit happy about what he had done, and while she knew she was no match for the monster that had torn apart her children and siblings she refused to stand by and let the creature continue its' assault on the Swarm.

Alex was angry, more at himself then the Queen, he should have remembered she was there. The Queen wasn't really a threat to him, but the point was that he had failed to eliminate all enemy units in the area and had let his guard down. If the Queen had been a Ghost, he would probably be a blob of jelly right now, nukes were still not something he was eager to test his durability against. Before the Queen could launch a second attack, Alex ripped her to pieces and consumed what remained, in the future he would have to be more careful. Scanning the area for any possible threats, using both Thermal Vision and Bio Vision in combination with his psionic power, Alex confirmed that there was nothing nearby that could be a potential danger and walked into the Lair.

When the last of the Zerg structures had died Alex began tunneling down into the ground, once he was sixty feet below the surface, he formed a solid shell of reinforced biomass and directed 3/4 of his psionic power into a shield around himself. Now it was time to do some serious work with the genetics of the Zerg.

"How did you lose something that took out not one, but two Zerg hives?" The General that had been sent to investigate reports of some kind of alien attacking, and "eating", the Zerg on this fringe outpost, was not amused when the Ghosts he had sent to follow the supposed creature, reported that, after destroying a second, much larger and more heavily defended, Zerg hive, the creature had burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

"We looked everywhere Sir. There wasn't even a trace of its' thoughts, we couldn't sense anything from it even before it went underground." The Sargent of the squad was just as displeased as the General that they had lost the creature. "Sir, it seemed as though the alien was actively shielding itself from detection, we only caught up with it in time to see it attack the second hive cluster because we guessed that it was heading there. The Zerg didn't seem to know anything about it either, they went crazy when it dropped into the base from the sky, and they froze when it grew wings and started flying, they don't know any more about this thing then we do."

"So, we have a Changeling on steroids running around on this dirtball?" The Lieutenant in charge of the main defenses of the fortress sounded far less concerned about the situation then the rest of the officers present for the meeting.

"Sir, this is far worse then a Changeling, we saw this thing rip an Ultralisk apart with its' bare hands, we saw those same hands change into miniature imitations of that same Ultralisks blades. This thing took out an entire swarm of Mutalisks in a matter of seconds! It even used some kind of psionic attack to kill three Overlords at the same time. We have to find that thing and capture it, though to be honest I don't think that's possible, just killing it would be the better option."

"Did anyone think that maybe we should try talking to this being?" The head doctor assigned to the base had always been more diplomatic then was generally accepted by her fellow officers. Everyone in the room looked at her as though she had just admitted to being a Changeling.

"You want to try talking to a thing that eats Zerg hives for breakfast? Are you insane?" The tactical officer was the loudest of those who asked variations of this question.

"The fact that it has only attacked the Zerg is exactly why I think we should try to communicate with it, if it is as intelligent as its' actions suggest, then there is no reason to think that it would be unwilling to negotiate with us." More then anything else, the doctor wanted to know how this being did what it did, she had studied Changelings, but what she had heard described sounded far more advanced.

"The Zerg are pretty damned smart too, Doc, does that mean we should invite them to a pool party?" Again the Lieutenant made it clear he was not taking this very seriously.

"Enough. With all due respect Doctor, this thing sounds like an even worse menace then the Zerg and Jim Raynor combined, what if there's more of them? Given all the messed up shit that goes on in this sector I wouldn't be surprised if there was a whole colony of the freaks somewhere, we need to deal with this thing now and find out the best way to kill it in case more start showing up." The base commander, who had originally called for back up, was not the only one sharing this belief. In the end the decision was made, almost unanimously, that half the troops in the base should be mobilized and sent to search for this creature at its last known location. On top of the troops from the main base, those stationed at every other planet side location were also briefed on the situation and ordered to begin sweeping the caves and other such potential hiding spots.

The units that were assigned to keep an eye on some of the more active Zerg hives, were ordered to keep a lookout for the alien and report it immediately if the creature showed up. Those who had the ability to do so were ordered to nuke the mystery being on sight. "If there's anything left when we get through with this thing, you can try talking to that, okay Doc?"

Alex almost started laughing when he saw half of the men and vehicles in the base leaving, he didn't even have to read their minds to know where they were headed. The base was still well defended, but since they had no way of detecting him Alex was not concerned in the least, okay that's not true, he was cautious but really not worried about having to much trouble.

A marine, uncharacteristically, out of armor and just a little outside the bases walls, was grumbling to himself about being left out of the search for the so-called "Alien Invader", he didn't hear Alex walking up behind him, nor did he hear the Impaler Tendrils extending from Alex's' back.

"HHMMFF!" That was the only noise that escaped the marines' mouth before it was completely covered by the tendril that had rapped around his head. The ex-criminal didn't even have time to realize what had happened before the other seven tendrils ripped him to pieces.

The man that had just been torn limb from limb, looked himself over. "A default personality? I would have thought they could be a little more creative. Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Now lets see what we can learn today."

Five hours after Alex had entered the base, he had managed to examine half the vehicles and most of the weapons still stored in the Armory and parked around the Command Center. The Barracks were interesting, he'd definitely have to find a use for some of that later. As it turned out, the marine he had consumed wasn't allowed in the Engineering Bay or the Ghost Academy, and he was closely watched in the Starport, they were mostly just worried he'd break something because the ex-convict marines weren't the most subtle or gentle individuals.

_"Don't want to start eating people, that would definitely be noticed. Let's see if it works with just a complete DNA strand."_ Alex "tripped" as he walked by an Engineer, the two nearly fell and Alex made sure the young woman received only a small cut on her forearm, she didn't notice the thread like tendril extend from the "marines'" hand and siphon some of her blood as he pulled her to her feet. As the Engineer walked away, mumbling about klutzy meat heads, Alex scanned her memories and personality, it wouldn't do him much good to look like her if he couldn't think and act like her.

Finding an out of the way corner that wasn't in view of any cameras, Alex shifted his form to match that of the Engineer, it worked. _"Good to know I don't have to just eat people right and left anymore, besides, it could be fun to have two of the same person walking around."_ Alex shifted back to the Marine and went to find the Engineer he would be impersonating, it would just complicate things if people started seeing her in two places at once, or worse, she could run into herself.

Alex found her coming out of a restroom, a quick check revealed no cameras watching that spot and a scan told him no one was in the immediate area. _"Perfect."_

"Excuse me, could I have a word with you?"

The Engineer turned around quickly, she hadn't heard anyone else in the hallway, and besides that, the voice she had heard sounded far to similar to her own. She near had a heart attack when she found herself standing only five feet from her. As the other hers' eyes glowed orange, she remembered everything she had heard and read about Changelings, her only thoughts before losing consciousness were, _ "What did I do to deserve this?"_

Alex, as the Engineer, walked out of the young woman's room, hoping she would stay unconscious as long as he had intended. _"Better hurry this along, even if she's out for hours I doubt I can keep people from noticing she's acting a little weird for too long."_

It took Alex another three hours to study everything he could in the Engineering Bay, and another two hours to stealthily study the Ghost Academy. He was halfway done examining the Starport when an alarm went off. Apparently the woman he was imitating had woken up, and apparently everyone on the base had forgotten that a Changeling had to kill a person in order to become them. Alex did the only thing he could at the moment that didn't involve mass slaughter, he shifted into himself. Alex modified his clothing from memory to be what any ordinary worker on the base would be wearing and started projecting a "normal" thought pattern, while hiding his true thoughts under the false ones.

Alex reported for the mandatory scans being carried out by the Ghosts just like everyone else did, he also began passively altering memories so that no one would realize that they had never seen him before. When he was scanned he made sure the only thoughts the Ghost heard were those that would be expected in the given situation, and for good measure he added the thoughts that the female Ghost on the other side of the room looked really good in a skin tight body suit.

While the Ghosts were scanning people, Alex began doing the same, he had been copying the memories of everyone he encountered since he entered the base, but with almost everyone still present in one area it made things much easier, in a matter of minutes he knew everything that all of the people within sixty feet of him knew, he could sense people further away then that, but trying to scan them at that distance resulted in a garbled mess of thoughts that he had trouble understanding. _"Still need more practice with that I guess."_

The base was on high alert for the rest of the day and half the forces that had been deployed were called back, in case the Zerg attacked. Alex found out that the girl he had imitated was still being held under the suspicion that she may be a Changeling and had somehow hidden it from the Ghosts. Alex decided that since it was his fault he should do something about it.

When he had the chance, Alex shifted back into the girl and took off running toward a Supply depot carrying an armload of D-8 charges. Throwing the charges right and left as he headed for the Supply depot, so he was followed by a series of explosions and the shocked cries of those who saw what was happening.

The Supply depot Alex had chosen went down quick, before the building had even finished collapsing a storm of C-14 ammunition began tearing into Alex from three different locations, this was more annoying then threatening, but Alex had to treat it as a danger in order to keep up the act that he was a Changeling. Shifting into a protoplasmic state was actually amusing from Alex's' perspective, after all, if he wanted to he could show the Terran his "True" form.

Imitating a Changeling in appearance and behavior, Alex grew a crude bone blade in place of one arm and charged toward the Marines. While this was happening, Alex reformed outside the base in Armor Form and prepared to "Consume" the "Changeling" he had been "Following". _"Time to see if all those acting classes someone else took paid off."_

Alex leaped over the wall and crashed to the ground, leaving a decent sized crater where he had landed. The entrance got the attention of all those present, including the "Changeling". Before anyone could react to his arrival, Alex launched his Impaler Tendrils at the Biomass Puppet. What appeared to be a Changeling swung its' blade at the tendrils, but was far to slow too intercept the attack, all eight tendrils plunged into the "Changelings" protoplasmic body and began reabsorbing it into the main Blacklight mass, in seconds it was gone.

Alex looked around, at first this confused the humans, from what they could see this creature had no eyes, just as that thought crossed their minds though, Alex shifted three pairs of glowing red, eyes with slit pupils, on the smooth surface of his armored face, two where a human would have them, two more above those and two more just below the normal set.

Before an order could be given, or before someone did something stupid, Alex sent out a psionic pulse which gave those who could feel such things the impression that he was searching for something, everyone else just felt a little bit dizzy. Before anyone could figure out what the pulse had meant, Alex morphed his wings back into place and shot straight up into the air, stopping for a split second once he reached two-hundred feet, before taking off to the east at about four-hundred thirty-six miles per hour.

Alex had decided that he should probably leave the planet and find another place to get the information he had missed back at the base, the problem was how to do that, he knew how Zerg managed it, but the exact same method would be a little difficult for him to manage. After two hours of thinking and experimenting Alex thought he had a good way to get into space, it was going to be very fun to test the theory, and very unpleasant if it failed.

Having burrowed four-hundred fifty feet into the ground, Alex began setting up the delayed psionic fields he would use to gain the speed required to get into orbit where he could safely create a Warp Rift and leave the system. Once the psionic fields were set up, one every one-hundred feet with an extra one at the very top of the shaft, Alex began charging a full power Psionic Boost, as well as being ready for a full strength jump straight up the shaft he had dug. While preparing his jump, Alex created a "tunnel" of psionic power straight up one-thousand feet from his current position.

Alex shifted to his new Hardened Armor form and altered the shape as needed to make it more aerodynamic, and created a oval shaped Psionic Shield around himself. When he was ready, Alex jumped, released the Psionic Boost, and began drawing the psionic power from the "tunnel" he made behind him. Given how he had set things up, Alex knew he would be moving at about sixteen-thousand miles per hour once he exited the hole he was using as a "Psionic Accelerator Cannon", but even if he could maintain that speed it still wouldn't let him escape the gravity of the planet, to reach the speed he needed, Alex was going too use the "tunnel" as a slingshot, once he reached one-thousand feet he would be launched further into the air at twice the speed he was already moving. That was the plan anyway.

_"Well, that almost worked, need to add a few more stages to the initial liftoff."_ Alex thought. He was now in a decaying orbit over the planet, in about ten minutes, maybe less, he would lose stability and plummet back to the surface. While he estimated that he had a 78.46% chance of survival, Alex didn't want to tempt fate anymore then he already was.

It took three minutes to put knowledge into practice, he had now opened a ten foot wide Warp Rift, propelling himself through the hole in the fabric of the universe, Alex left the planet behind to look for a new source of information.

**"Collision Detected! Collision Detected!"** The automated alert system continued to scream about the collision, that almost no one on the ship had felt, for another six minutes before the Captain got it to shut up. "Okay, does anyone have any idea what we hit?"

"No sir, there wasn't anything for us to hit. I think the ship's bugging up again." The navigation officer was very annoyed having his skills at his job questioned by a computer, there wasn't anything for them to hit, therefore it was not his fault.

"Alright, continue on course. Someone fix the damned computers, I don't want this to be a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" situation." Pirate or not, no captain likes having their ship functioning poorly, especially when their in an area known for attacks from the Zerg.

Alex crawled along the hull of the ship his Warp Rift had spit him out practically right in front of. It wasn't a very big ship, only about one-hundred or so crew members, it had no marks identifying it as one faction or another, and it seemed somewhat poorly maintained. One thing that did bother Alex, was the presence of almost four-hundred humans on the ship that only had room for one-hundred crew members, the thing that really got his attention was where he felt the minds of most of those people and the state it seemed they were in. _"So, pirates selling people as _test subjects_ for some Dominion science team? Well, I guess I've got my next destination, means of transport, and something "fun" to do until we get there."_

"I'm telling you I saw something!" Being the most spineless person on the ship, the individual saying this was not taken seriously.

"Quit jumping at shadows and help me get this wiring finished, I don't want the computer telling us we're in an asteroid belt, when we're obviously not, anymore then the captain does." The crew was not evenly split, but there weren't that many more men on the ship then women, and most of the women were far more useful then the men, and much less easily spooked.

"I'm serious, there's something over there. What if it's a Ghost? They've got that cloaking thing right, what if one's over there?" The man was whispering now, he really didn't like the idea of a Ghost on the ship, or worse, one of those Changelings he'd heard about in a bar.

"Why would a Ghost be here you dumb-ass? What? They don't have better things to do then harass some pirates? I'm pretty sure the military has bigger shit to worry about then us. Besides did you forget who we're working for? If there is a Ghost on the ship, it's probably to make sure we stick to the deal." Almost everything the woman had said had been shouted, and the fact that she punctuated her last word by slamming the panel she was working at shut, made it clear she didn't care if there was a Ghost around.

_"Why do we have to work with these people? Give my squad a ship and we could get twice as many subjects in half the time, but no, it has to be pirates and I had to be sent to keep an eye on them. If the eggheads are worried we're being cheated they shouldn't be using pirates as a delivery service."_ The Ghost assigned to watch the pirates was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn't notice the small 'thump' noise behind her.

_"Well, if you want my opinion, I think that this whole operation needs to be shut down."_ Alex smirked when the Ghosts' thoughts became erratic, she had clearly forgot that she was holding what amounted to a small cannon masquerading as a sniper rifle.

Before the Ghost could panic and give away his presence, Alex severed her spinal cord and consumed her, catching her rifle before it could clatter to the floor. Alex had never liked having red hair, he had no problem with it on other people, but it just didn't fit on him, so he quickly shifted back to normal. _"Time to make those horror movies some of 'them' were so fond of count."_

Alex put the more 'frightening' aspects of the movies 'they' had watched to good use, in just three days he had more then half the crew convinced the ship was haunted, the other half believed there was at least one Ghost and one Changeling on board having some kind of covert war between each other. No one went anywhere alone and definitely not unarmed. They were three days from their destination and had not sent any communications to inform anyone of the situation aboard the ship, not that they could since Alex had ripped the transmission system to pieces not long after consuming the Ghost.

"We are not docking this ship until I know what's going on! Is that clear?" The captain was a wreck, he hadn't slept, had trouble eating as a result of the rather . . . disturbing images that plagued the entire crew when ever they tried to eat, constantly feeling like someone was watching them wasn't helping the crew either. Whenever someone did fall asleep, they woke up not long afterwards screaming about monsters and being eaten alive.

"Sir, what are we supposed to do? We can't trust anything we hear or see, hell I smell rotting meat right now, but there sure as hell isn't any in the room!" Similar thoughts were voiced by others in the room, though most of them were concerned that those weren't even their own thoughts.

"Sir please, we should just abandon the ship, the shuttles can..." The man who was speaking was cut off when the door to the meeting room burst open, and a tendril with a bone-like spear on the end punched straight through him. Barbs made of the same substance as the spear itself grew from the base of the spike facing in the opposite direction, burying themselves in the victims chest, when there was no chance of losing the target the tendril pulled him off his feet, out the door and around the corner. Moments after the remaining crew had began to wonder if what they had seen was another hallucination, a sickening crunching sound was heard, along with a splashing noise that some immediately recognized as the sound of blood, a lot of it, hitting metal.

_**"One."**_

Everyone on the ship, with the exception of those in the cargo hold, heard a deep, growling, voice, put a number to the first pirate to die that day. The voice wasn't through yet though.

_**"One down, but it didn't make me feel any better. I guess I'll just have to try again, 'If at first you don't succeed' and all that."**_ That was all it took, the crew broke down into a terrified frenzy, running every which way, trying to be faster then their crew mates. When running from a predator, you don't have to outrun the predator, you just have to outrun the guy next to you.

Two of the pirates headed for the escape shuttles, they fought each other the whole way, hearing heavy footfalls behind them. Just as they reached the door to the small hanger, the woman elbowed the man in the face and opened the door, before the injured pirate could curse or attempt to retaliate, the woman screamed as three of the same tendril from before tore her to pieces, smaller tendrils branching from the larger ones to rip the remains apart even more.

_**"Two."**_ Again everyone of the pirates heard the count.

The man with a broken nose turned and fled back the way he had come. Suddenly he heard a heavy crash on the floor just a few feet behind him, thinking he was about to be stabbed in the back, the man threw himself to the left and turned around, quickly emptying his gun into empty air.

_**"Nice try, but you missed."**_ The voice came from right behind him, the last thing the man saw when he turned around was three pairs of glowing red eyes.

_**"Three."**_

For the next ten hours things continued in a similar pattern, pirates would try to escape the ship, or hide somewhere, then those still alive would hear _**"Four, that wasn't a very good hiding spot, I hope the rest of you are better at this then he was."**_

_**"Five. Hm? She actually put up a fight, maybe if you were all more like her this would be more fun."**_

_**"Ten. Really, who tries to flush themselves out through the toilet."**_

_**"Sixteen. Did you all know that one of you tasted like beef jerky dipped in blueberry juice?"**_

_**"Twenty-three. Okay, I'll be honest, that was absolutely pathetic, I've seen eggplants put up a better fight then that."**_

_**"Twenty-six. Alright, I can admit that that was a very good try, would have worked too if I had actually been in the room, okay that's not entirely true, I would have been outside for a bit, but that's where I started out anyway, but still a good try, I hope the rest of you can learn from her example, the plan and all that, not the whole being eaten like an olive thing."**_

_**"Thirty. Okay seriously, could the rest of you promise to die with a little dignity, I mean really, a big bad space pirate soiling himself? Really, I can't eat this. Anyone want to take bets on how long he'll last outside? I'm thinking ... Nevermind, he already imploded."**_

_**"Thirty-seven. That. Was. Absolutely. Unforgivably. Retarded. How could he have thought that that was going to work? I mean really, a pocket knife, two paper clips, and a hand grenade? Who did he think he was? MacGuyver?"**_

Understandably, the remaining crew of the ship were not the least bit comfortable with the situation, nearly half of them were dead, or at least they were fairly certain they were dead, it was hard to tell if the voice was serious or not. Even if the voice was lying about half of them, the other half had been witnessed by one crew member or another. They were all very, very, very scared, and it didn't help when the voice started singing.

_**"Total slaughter. Total slaughter. I wont leave a single man alive. La de da de die. Genocide. La de da de duh. An ocean of blood. Lets begin, the killing time"**_

Alex was glad he didn't need to breath, otherwise he would have suffocated from laughing so much, the pirates thoughts about the song were just to funny, he was glad one of those wannabe gangsters back in 2032 had been a fan of old anime.

_**"Fifty. About halfway to the finish, I hope you're planning on trying something a little more entertaining then running around like tuna with their heads cut off. You know, it just occurred to me that we haven't been properly introduced. I am Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the third. Don't worry about forgetting that, everybody does, well that and I'm still going to kill you all in some of the most horribly unpleasant ways I can come up with."**_

_**"Wow! Fifty-three, Fifty-four, and Fifty-five all at once! That little failure right there deserves a Lemming Award."**_

_**"Okay, that's Sixty, but I can't really take credit for it. I guess that will teach him to open doors two of you are hiding behind wont it? While we're on the subject of shooting people just because they opened a door, I feel I should let you know that you really don't have any conventional weapons on this ship that are actually a threat to me."**_

_**"Sixty-eight. Alright, time out. Did anyone else notice that I haven't even been trying the last four times? Do you people even want to survive this? It really does seem like you're all just going through the motions. Don't tell me you've given up already. Look, I'll tell you what I'm going to do, before I kill you I'll let you take a guess at what I really am, anyone who can get it right I'll let them go, does that sound fair?"**_

_**"Okay, now that's just rude, half of you don't even respond, just because you're dead doesn't give you license to be jerks, and the rest of you think I'm lying. Tell you what, I'm going to give you a hint, I am not a vegetable or mineral. That narrows it down considerably wouldn't you agree? By the way Sixty-nine that was completely incorrect, I'd almost feel bad for you, if you hadn't always been such a moron anyway."**_

_**"No, I am not . . . Okay so I am crazy, but at least I'm not the one hearing voices in my head, seriously you're all nuts, if I were stuck on a spaceship with no way to call for help with a homicidal maniac trying to kill me, I wouldn't be the least bit concerned about whether or not hiding in the engine room was a good idea, I'd be much more concerned about the open vent I was sitting under in the engine room. On a related note Seventy, I am not the spawn of Satan and an octopus."**_

After nine hours and forty-eight minutes, there were only five very traumatized pirates left on the ship. The captain had managed to get the six of them together and to the bridge without incident, the voice had been silent for a while, but none of the five humans on the bridge thought the thing that had been terrorizing them was gone.

"Did any of you get a good look at this thing? If we know what it is, we should be able to figure out a way to stop it. It has to be vulnerable to something, did it avoid any area of the ship? Was it careful around any pipes or vents? Something!" The captain had definitely seen better days.

The pirates in the room couldn't think of anything, they had been far to busy freaking out to notice what the monster chasing them did and didn't like. One hand went up.

"Captain, I have a question, I think it's pretty important to."

"What is it? In case you didn't notice we're the only ones left on the ship!" He was not amused by the crewman's 'classroom' behavior.

"Well that's just it Captain. Didn't you notice that the last count was one-hundred thirty-two?" _**"Didn't you notice that the last count was one-hundred thirty-two?"**_ The voice came from the mans' mouth and inside their heads at the same time. The crewman's eyes glowed red as his body fell apart and reformed at the same time, the end result was a creature with no mouth, six red eyes, and what seemed to be a combination of a bugs exoskeleton and a lizards scales instead of skin.

The screaming stopped almost as soon as it started. Alex stood with his arms crossed, as his tendrils ripped apart and consumed four of the five humans on the bridge, the captain he just held in the air with one tendril and stared at him.

_**"What did you think the numbering was for? Did it seem like I had trouble keeping track of you all? I thought that when you got a few of the survivors together I wouldn't be able to sneak in so easy, but not one of you realized that there was one to many people in the group. Really quite disappointing Captain."**_

"What are you?" It was gurgled more then spoken, but Alex heard it just fine. Placing seven of his Impaler Tendrils, the ones that were not occupied holding the captain in the air, in front of the mans chest, Alex used a blood sample he had discreetly acquired moments earlier, to shift into another shape.

"When you get to hell, or wherever people like you end up, ask them, if they don't tell you, remember to thank them for it." The last thing the captain saw before the tendrils tore him to pieces was his own face smirking at him.

"I think I've been avoiding people a little to long. I knew I was a bit out of it, but really, that was just weird." Alex, because there was nothing else to do on his way to the cargo hold, was going over what he had been doing for the last few days. He had reasoned that he was insane a long time ago, but now he just seemed deranged.

Once Alex reached the cargo hold and released the prisoners he was reminded that humans need food and water regularly, there wasn't much on the ship, and that had been before that one pirate had tried to launch him out an airlock. So, after explaining the situation to the passengers aboard his stolen ship, and telling them that they would still have to go without much food for a little longer, Alex started thinking about how best to deal with the research facility they were headed to.

"Excuse me? You said your name was Mercer right?" The man, who had been elected representative of the former prisoners, was uncertain how to approach the man who had apparently stowed away on the ship and killed off the pirates on his own, just so he could get into the facility they were currently headed to.

"Hm? Yes, that's right. Can I help you with something?" Alex had already decided to just go back to the same tactics he had used in Manhattan, so the interruption of his thoughts wasn't a problem.

"Well, first off, what do you intend to do with all of us?"

"Nothing. When we get to the facility just stay on the ship for a few minutes, when you don't hear anymore gunfire, or explosions, you can take the ship, the shuttles, or any vehicles in the hanger that still function, and leave. To be honest, it doesn't matter to me what you do, I just don't like people being experimented on, bad past experiences."

"So we're free to go?"

"As free as a human can be, yes. What you do with your lives is up to you, I just want to learn what I can from the facility, my last attempt at espionage had to be cut short, so I'm hoping I can make up for that where we're going."

"Alright. Is there anyway we could get more food or water? What we're eating now isn't much better then what we were given before you took over the ship."

"Well, I can think of a few solutions to that problem, but you wouldn't like any of them. We can't stop anywhere else, the facility is the closest outpost, once I'm done clearing out the first floor you could look for the kitchen or something. There would be more food in storage, but apparently, pirates think the best way to deal with stowaways is to try to shove them out airlocks without even making sure they're in the room yet."

"What about those solutions? Desperate people will do a lot to survive." The poor man was grasping at straws.

"The least unpleasant of the solutions I can come up with, is to just launch half of you into space. Fewer people, less need to ration supplies. That that is the least reprehensible of your options should give you an idea of what the other choices are."

"We can't do that! How could the other options be worse?"

"In general, the human race frowns on cannibalism. Tell you what, I'll push the ship full speed, it'll damage the ship, but we'll get there faster. After we get there though you'll have to find a different ship if you want to leave, this ones' engines will not be in any shape for interplanetary travel again without some serious work."

The comment about cannibalism had definitely done the trick, and saying he would speed up their travel had got the people on the ship to bother him less. Three days after the pirates had been dealt with, the ship arrived, hours ahead of schedule, this bothered the staff of the research base for two reasons, the first was that they had dealt with this man before and knew that he wouldn't arrive early if he could help it because he was being paid for his time as much as for the "cargo". The other reason they were concerned was that the ships weapons were armed.

Humming The Ride of the Valkyries, Alex opened fire on the interior of the hanger with all of the ships weapons, though there really weren't many, it was a modified freighter after all, not a battle ship.

When there wasn't any more he could do from inside the ship, Alex blew an emergency hatch and jumped out into the hanger, he wasn't worried about the people on the ship, they had the pirates' weapons, and it was unlikely anyone would bother trying to get on the ship when he was slaughtering his way into the base itself.

When what had sounded like a small scale war seemed to have ceased, the former prisoners cautiously exited the ship. What they saw was, among other things, terrifying. Bodies were laying around the hanger in various states, none of them good, one of the marines looked like he had been cleaved in half by a large blade, another was face down in a hole that seemed to have been melted into the floor by something acidic. All around the room there was conflicting evidence of how Alex had fought the soldiers who got in his way, dents in the floor, and people, from some heavy impact, signs of explosives and gunfire, there were even groups of spines, each one eight inches long, that appeared to be made of bone.

The room itself was in horrible shape, it looked as though it had been hit by multiple earthquakes, there were panels ripped off the floor, wires had been cut, pipes were leaking fuel and water, among other things, onto the floor. The most confusing thing was the fact that some of the marines armor suits were empty, there was blood on, and in, them, but there was no other sign of the men who had been wearing the armor.

"Bit of advice, get tougher doors." Alex shouted, calmly, as he smashed his way through another blast door that had been closed in an attempt to slow him down.

As Alex stepped into the hallway beyond the now warped and broken door, he was unsurprised to see twenty marines, ten kneeling in front of the other ten who were standing, lined up about fifty feet from him. Hardened Armor shifted into place just as the marines opened fire, the metal spikes that could tear through a couple inches of neo-steel ricocheted harmlessly of what amounted, proportionally, to warship hull plating. Alex walked toward the marines as they continued to fire, reloading and edging backwards down the hall. The Hardened Armor was far more durable then his normal armor, but it was also far heavier, his top running speed was reduced from a few hundred miles per hour to only twenty, but the protection the armor provided was an even trade off for the speed.

The marines were now backed up against another blast door, and Alex was only twenty or so feet from them. "Better luck in your next lives guys." Alex launched all eight Impaler Tendrils at the trapped soldiers, he ended it quick, they may have been criminals before they were 'recruited' but that was no reason to make them suffer, besides he was in a hurry.

"Please, I'll do whatever you want, tell you anything, just don't kill me!" This was the fifth time Alex had heard the same pathetic whining from one of the researchers, they didn't seem to understand that he didn't want, or need, them alive. The man gurgled loudly as Alex shoved his hand straight through his heart.

And that's that. For now anyway.

Okay, I was going to explain a few things, but I forgot what they were. If you have any questions, please just think a bit and I'm sure you can figure out why Alex did this or said that, or how he managed to create the new weapons and such. If I came to those conclusions then I'm sure the rest of you can to. Just a note about the wings Alex grew, they are not the same as Mutalisk wings, when I wrote that I was thinking of Draco's wings from the movie Dragonheart. The "Bio-mass Puppet" ability is a less refined form of something else Alex will be capable of later, right now all he does is remove all the infectious aspects of the virus from some bio-mass, and then control it with his psionic power, hence the Bio-mass Puppet title, later he will be able to control multiple puppets at once. When the ability has been refined a bit, Alex will basically be a walking hive cluster.

The 'them' Alex was referring to are the people he has consumed, odds are some of them were fans of horror movies. 'Frightening' in a relative sense, do you think Alex would be afraid of Jason? Freddy? Yeah, the guy that's pretty much 40% nightmare fuel doesn't have any reason to be afraid of horror movie villains or monsters.

I sadly am not up to date with the Starcraft universe and do not know how half of the things in it function, some of the things in here should make that quite obvious. The Warp Rift that dropped Alex in the sector in the first place can be explained in a lot of different ways, but no matter what, Alex was not brought there intentionally by any force native to that particular universe, unless it was random chance or something.

I wrote half of this trying to force the point that Alex is capable of a lot more then charging forward killing everything that moves, his powers were great for stealth and infiltration before, with the Zerg genetics added in he would just get better.


	2. Harder Better Faster Stronger

I Own Nothing.

This note added in direct response to the seventh comment posted in regards to the first chapter: This was planned as an unholy curb-stomp from the start, but there is a reason for that, it will be explained at the end of the third chapter. I thought I had made it fairly clear in the first few paragraphs, with mentions of it throughout the first chapter, that Alex really doesn't have anything to lose, he has no one he cares for and is so far from anyone he knew well enough to even call an acquaintance, that it means nothing for him to even think about them. The odds are not against Alex, not because he is overpowered, though that is a part of it, it is because no one has realized just what it would take to constitute a real threat to him, the Zerg were at a disadvantage from the start, since they have so few direct attacks that would inflict the right kind of damage to even annoy Alex.

Outside of game mechanics Alex would not really be harmed by simple blunt force attacks. He is a mass of viral goo, what good does it do you to punch a virus? Slashing attacks and stabbing attacks would only be marginally more effective then punching him, nothing the Zerg have can do enough damage to his cells to really hurt him in any way worth mentioning. The Terran have the means to hurt Alex, what they do not have is the knowledge that would prompt them to use the appropriate caliber of weapons to fight him, they could hurt him with lasers and other high heat weapons, there is a reason Alex wants to avoid being nuked, and a few shots from a Yamato cannon would have pretty much ended things early on, but they didn't know, and still don't, that he is vulnerable to weapons that would have a direct effect on his cellular structure.

In game Alex had to be vulnerable to more then just the sort of things that would logically hurt him, otherwise you would be near unstoppable through most of the story, but without the needs of a game working against him, Alex is far more dangerous. The best way of damaging Alex without glassing the general area is to separate portions of biomass from him, you would have to do this in small amounts so as to avoid the cells severed from the main mass just developing a mind of their own and creating a race of beings with the same power and potential as Alex, without his end of game decision to not just kill everything he comes in contact with, I know what the second game trailers and the developers say, but the new story doesn't seem to fit with the end of the first game.

In this chapter Alex will be hurt more then once, while he will not come close to losing the fights he is in, he will still lose noticeable amounts of biomass, and even, in the narrative, complain about it. Alex seems pretty much unstoppable, but will himself note that there are a lot of things he does not want to get hit with, a nuke is actually the least of his worries. The extent to which Alex can be harmed will not really be confirmed, but the method of hurting him will be made quite clear.

Because I'm only half awake while typing this, I feel a retort of little actual meaning is needed for the last few words. 'No Pain, No Gain' doesn't really apply to someone who can choose to just not have nerves at any given time.

This is supposed to be a setup for possible stories that do not feature Alex as the main character, I will explain, whether people like the explanation or not is up to them, but please reserve judgement till the very end. A quick warning, if you think I have given Alex too much of an upgrade already, you may want to just stop reading this now.

1. Alex only ate a Ghost near the end of the first chapter, so he really wasn't sure how to go about cloaking himself fully, he is already able to hide himself from any other form of detection besides sight. Since the Ghosts cloaking is technologically assisted, Alex still won't be able to do it for a little while, once he has a disagreement with a few Dark Templar he'll learn how it's done. While he can't cloak yet, Alex can, _**convince**_ people to just not see him, he isn't invisible, but it comes pretty close.

2. Alex is going to be combining his new powers and knowledge in this chapter, so yeah he will be mixing everything he has gained, and will gain.

3. Alex has only obtained Zerg psionic power, besides that one Ghost, and Zerg don't really use their power actively so what he has now he came up with on his own, when he starts dealing with the Protoss he will expand his psionic powers considerably.

4. I didn't bother mentioning changes to his legs because they really wouldn't be noticeable, and his upper arms look almost the same no matter which weapon form he is using. However, in this chapter Alex will gain a few new weapons that do change his upper arms, maybe his legs to if I can come up with something.

5. I feel I should warn you that Alex will be expanding on the Biomass Puppet power in this chapter, he will not be using it much though since the improvements will make it impractical for the recon he is focusing on at the moment.

6. I haven't mentioned anything from Prototype 2 because I don't want to mess with the canon too much, I don't have a problem with Prototype or Starcraft canon, and unless I hate the second Prototype _after_ playing it, I don't want to mess with things too much, so basically this story assumes that Prototype 2 doesn't happen. On a related note, Alex will not be running into any of the important people from the Starcraft universe, I like the canon just fine as is and see no reason to change anything if I don't have to. This is also why I have no issue with butchering canon of other series, if I don't like it I have no problem changing it. (Side note: This story takes place before Starcraft 2 really picks up, so nothing important has happened, that's why nothing from the game will be mentioned.)

7. If you thought the last chapter was on the curb-stomp-ish side, you may, or may not, like this chapter. Alex has gained all of the Zerg upgrades, the ones that would be useful to him anyway, this means that he has pretty much tripled his running speed, it will increase further over time, his attacks have gained the same bonuses that fully upgraded Zerg units benefit from, his base durability has been boosted to match the combined armor of one of every fully upgraded Zerg unit, buildings included, and he can now regenerate fully from any damage without having to consume anything. I should explain that last one, let's put it this way, the cells of everything on Earth, plants, animals, and even viruses, have one thing in common, they all have a limited number of times they can replicate, it is this limit that causes aging in humans and other Earth lifeforms, even a virus can not infinitely reproduce without infecting other cells and using them to create a new generation of viral cells.

The cellular deterioration that most beings are subject to that causes them to age does not affect Alex in the same way, because he is a virus he can just absorb new cells into himself, as long as he does not take damage that requires his cells to replicate too much in order to repair, he is, in essence, immortal. Now that Alex has incorporated Zerg genetics into himself, there is no longer a limit to how many times his cells can replicate, this is because Zerg do not age, their cells do not have a set limit on how many times they can replicate. A zergling could be cut in half, then fully regenerate the lost section of its' body and continue fighting, as long as it survives long enough to do so, any Zerg unit could do this an infinite number of times simply because they have no problems with cellular death the way other life forms do.

With the enhanced regeneration of the Zerg added to his own, and the addition of limitless cell generation, Alex is now less a virus, and more like a Zerg god. So at this point, Alex is more durable then ever before, and even if you manage to hurt him, he can just regenerate in a matter of seconds from anything short of an artillery barrage. Infantry weapons, even grenades and rockets, can't do any significant damage just because he heals to fast for it too matter, and even a direct hit from every shot fired by a pair of Thor's would only slow him down for a little while, and the odds of even one shot hitting him are pretty slim now. Alex is far faster then he used to be, he is much more durable, and because he can generate the necessary biomass on his own, he can launch one devastator after another with no concern about running out of biomass. He still doesn't want to try taking a nuke to the face though.

8. I may have forgotten to mention it in the first chapter, the Hardened Armor is not only four times as durable, and heavy, as the original armor form, it is a little more then three times the size as well, this is important for a couple of reasons, those reasons will be explained, sort of, in this chapter.

9. Anything Alex creates that completely separates from his body has no traces of the Blacklight virus in it, he removes the virus in order to avoid any chance of another outbreak, that and he doesn't trust that another being like him would remain rational enough to not just go omnicidal. Things this applies to includes projectiles and biomass puppets, as well as a few new things that will be introduced in this chapter.

10. This was only intended to be two or three chapters, I have decided to go for three because one of the things I want to accomplish cannot be done in just two. The third chapter picks up right after the end of this one.

11. While writing this I couldn't help but listen to certain songs at specific parts. The two main songs were during the parts where Alex was improving himself, and the major battle sequences. **Harder Better Faster Stronger **for the upgrading parts, and **Indestructible** for the battle sequences.

12. I am trying to do things in scale, but that is somewhat difficult since I have no reference for the actual size of some things, buildings and ships mostly, so if I get something wrong please forgive the error. On a related note, I think Carriers would have a lot more then eight Interceptors, seriously, the things are huge while the Interceptors are smaller then a normal fighter craft. If there is a Carrier in this chapter it will have at least one-hundred Interceptors.

13. (Wow, that's a lot of authors notes.) Alex will be fighting a few High Templar in this chapter. Because the in-game versions are not all that impressive on their own, I will be doing to them what I am doing with Alex, taking their abilities to their logical extremes.

Evolution Personified

"So, I guess this means you've decided not to run away screaming?" Alex asked, he was having a hard time not bursting into uncontrollable laughter at the sight of an antique shotgun aimed at his face.

"You think you can just come in here and start smashing up the place? Half my customers are never gonna come back here thanks to you!" The owner of the bar was not very happy.

Alex hadn't started the fight, if you could even call it that, he had been minding his own business thinking of ways to use his new knowledge too improve his new powers, as it turned out the patrons of this particular bar did not like his jacket. One man had made what he likely thought was a clever insult, Alex had simply responded with a comment about the dating habits of the mans sister and followed it up with a question about his mother, apparently those were both sensitive topics seeing as the man thought it was a good idea to pull a knife.

Alex had of course only done what he felt was needed to diffuse the situation and get the point across to all witnesses that he was not someone they wanted to fight, that being said, the bar was barely standing. One wall was almost gone, there were multiple holes in the roof, Alex was wondering if the men that had made those holes had landed yet, half the tables were splintered, and the man that had started the altercation in the first place was currently imbedded in the counter.

The virus smirked at how little damage he had actually done, it was amusing that the owner was so upset about this because the place hadn't really been much better before the fight. The smirk was the last straw for the owner, he pulled the trigger. Given the close range of the weapon, it was not surprising, at least to those who were not aware that the thing that had been shot was not human, that Alex's head exploded, or at least the small amount of biomass he hadn't moved out of the way did.

Quickly shifting biomass back into a recognizable head, Alex glared at the bar owner. "You do realize this means I'm going to have to set you on fire now, right?"

Alex walked out of the small town whistling a rather annoying tune, while the bar he had been in burned to the ground, no one still in the area was very pleasant, so Alex felt no guilt as the fire jumped from one poorly constructed building to the next.

Now miles from any form of human habitation, Alex had just finished building a device that would jam outgoing and incoming signals at up to one-thousand feet, he didn't want any ghosts that may happen into the area to start droping nukes on his head. The crater he had chosen as his testing grounds would make sure no one could get a line of sight target on him without being within the radius of the jamming device.

"Okay now, Sentry turret, similar to Spine and Spore Crawlers, they even had a concept for a mobile version. Let's see here." Alex shifted almost three humans worth of biomass into his right hand and then slammed it into the ground.

Moments after Alex had pulled his normal again arm out of the ground and stepped back, the ground erupted, cracking and splitting as a large creature pulled itself out of the dirt. The creature stood about nine feet in height, it had four armored legs, and a rather vicious looking face, on either side of its' main body were what appeared to be organic imitations of a Sentry turrets' gun, on its' back was a pair of "limbs" that bore a great deal of resemblance to Alex's Acidic Grenade launcher.

Alex walked around the creature, he hadn't decided what to call it yet, inspecting the legs, making sure the barb launchers weren't misaligned, he checked to make sure the grenade launchers wouldn't misfire since he was already checking the armor on the creatures back.

The whole thing was perfect, now to test it. Alex set up a few dozen targets about one-hundred feet from the creature. When he gave the order, it instantly spun towards the targets and opened fire with the barb launchers. The creature could only produce the spines at half the speed Alex did, and it only had half the effective range, but since it fired them in bursts in a straight line from the appendages on its' sides this was not really a problem. Once the creature had put twenty spines in each target it stopped firing and waited for new orders.

"Accuracy looks good, range is right to, no acid so no continuous damage, but that was the plan. Okay, looks like the primary weapon test is a success, let's check the secondary." Alex gave the order.

The limbs on the creatures back raised up over the its' head and angled to compensate for the arc of the shots, it only took a second for it to take aim and launch a pair of grenades at the first target. The explosion from the projectiles demolished the stone target, and the acid that splashed around the point of impact immediately began to melt the targets closest to the first, after waiting the five seconds it took to produce another pair of grenades, the creature fired again. This process was repeated until all of the targets were little more then holes in the ground.

"Again everything checks out. Perfect aim, no trouble compensating for projectile arc or wind speed. Have to find a way to test on moving targets later." Alex really wished he'd been able to do this back in Manhattan, it would have made things a lot easier on him, and a lot harder for Blackwatch.

Shifting some codes around, Alex set aside the template for the original creature and made a second form for it. Again shifting the necessary biomass into his right hand, Alex created another creature beside the first. This creature was the same as the first in all but the weapons it had been given, instead of the barb launchers, it had three linked organic rocket launchers on each side of its' body, and where the first had the acid grenades this one had two sets of four modified rocket launchers, instead of firing their projectiles in a straight line these would each fire four seeker missiles based off the glaive wurm and scourge unit Alex had found in the Zerg genetic structure, these missiles were intended for use against air units, while the rocket launchers were quite obviously meant for ground targets.

A quick test of the rockets showed no flaws with the system, but since he had no air units to test the seekers against, he decided to reserve judgement on the unit until he knew it worked perfectly. Now he just needed to see how they held up under fire. Getting into a good position to observe the test, Alex gave the order, and watched both creatures begin firing on each other. The first had less trouble hitting a moving target, both had begun to move about, sprinting out of the line of fire, actually jumping to dodge incoming attacks, they were doing fairly well at avoiding being damaged at all. The second creature had taken quite a few hits from the firsts spines, but it was well armored, so the anti-personnel projectiles did little damage, it had some difficulty avoiding the acid grenades, but was relatively unharmed at this point, but it had not managed to hit the first even once, it had come close, but it couldn't produce rockets fast enough to force the other into a corner.

In the end the first creature won, it had managed to wear the second down with spines and then tagged it with two pairs of grenades while it was to tired and injured to evade. The second may have lost, but the amount of punishment it took before going down was impressive, and though it had not managed to hit the first, the secondary damage the explosions from its' rockets had done was more then enough to slow the first down, it was not in the best of shape now, even though it had avoided any direct hits. Barring any unforeseen problems with the seeker missiles, Alex deemed both units a success and got to work on something else.

"Two light armor units, so I should see about an infantry unit to I guess." Alex had little trouble finding the right codes for what he wanted, and it was getting much easier putting things together for the desired result.

Alex held his hands apart as though he were holding a basketball, small tendrils began extending from his hands and meeting in the center of the open space. Where the tendrils met, they began to form a small sphere, the object quickly expanded, it took only ten seconds for the egg-like cocoon to reach the size of a basketball, thus filling the space Alex had provided for it. Setting the egg down, Alex stepped back and began accelerating the new creatures growth, in about the same amount of time it took a zergling to hatch, the egg had grown large enough for a full grown human to occupy before it split open. The humanoid being was a little larger then the average human, it was genderless, and instead of skin and hair like a human, it had an armored shell and scales like a Zerg. The creature had large red eyes, there were no whites visible, only slit pupils and faintly glowing red irises.

Like the first two units this one had only a rudimentary brain, it was enough for it to act on its' own to an extent, and it could follow orders, but it would not develop a personality. The armored shell and scales would offer the same amount of protection, maybe a little more, as a marines power armor. On the backs of both forearms were downgraded barb launchers, unlike Alex, this creature could only fire four spines at a time from either arm, and it could not produce the spines fast enough for them to be an effective assault weapon, they were meant to serve as an emergency weapon or surprise attack. On the outer sides of the creatures forearms it had retractable foot long blades, these could be extended and used in direct hand to hand combat.

As he watched his new soldier go through the obstacle course he had set up, Alex couldn't help but smirk, it was going to be fun having his own army. The infantry unit was fast, top running speed of thirty miles per hour, Alex had gotten really good at calculating an objects speed, it could jump a little more then twenty-five feet straight up, about the same distance forward from a standstill, and twice that with a running start, a quick test showed that its' reflexes matched its' speed. The creature was about five times as strong as a peak condition human, it easily lifted a boulder that Alex knew no single human could move.

Besides the external armor, Alex had designed the creature with a durable, tightly packed, but flexible bone structure. Its' muscle mass and density was of course also greater then that of a human, this provided even more protection, and the vital organs that were being protected were also far more durable then their human counterparts. Like Zerg units, and Alex himself, this creature could function in virtually any environment, neither extreme of temperature would slow it down or harm it, and what little air it did need could be gained anywhere, even in space, thanks to the extremely efficient respiratory system Alex had created for it. Like the Zerg, this creature was not subject to cellular deterioration, and therefore did not age, it could be killed, but most people would find that to be a very difficult task without decent weapons and some help from other well armed individuals.

"Okay then, let's see how you handle severe injuries." Alex shifted to a new weapon he had developed using Zerg genetics and Terran technological information. The new shape his arm took resembled a piston combined with a lance and a drill. The drill was only as big around as his normal arm.

Alex punched the creature in the stomach, as he had pulled back his "fist", the bio-metallic drill had pulled back as well, and the moment his "fist" hit the target, the spear was launched forward with enough force to punch straight through three feet of neosteel. The creature was blown off its' feet, landing twenty feet from where Alex was examining one of his newest weapons. Once he was satisfied that the weapon worked as intended, Alex walked over to the, miraculously, living creature. While it was alive, it was definitely not in good condition, had Alex been trying to kill the creature, it would be little more then a smear on the ground, as it was it had a hole in its' torso the size of a soccer ball.

(I really don't want to interrupt the story, but I can't think of a better way of explaining the new weapon, and I don't want to risk someone getting the wrong idea. It's basically a scaled down version of the Pile Bunker from Lost Planet 2. It functions the same way and when Alex uses it he uses it in a similar fashion to how it works when it is equipped to the GAH-42BS VS.)

Alex told his creature to save itself if it could, the thing responded by struggling to its' feet and stumbling over to the body of the second creature Alex had created, using its' blades it cut a decent sized chunk out of the fallen being, and ate it. Using the new material as a catalyst, the creature accelerated its' naturally fast healing to more then four times its' base speed, in less then a minute what should have been a fatal wound was completely healed.

"Good, wouldn't be very useful if you died that easily. Both of you go wait at the side of the crater, I have a couple more tests to perform." As the creatures cleared the potential blast zone, Alex set up some more targets.

Shifting to Hardened Armor, Alex shifted some genetic codes around with the intent of imitating a Thor's' 250 mm Strike Cannons, scaled down of course. When he was finished, Alex had four organic cannons on his back. Bracing himself for the recoil, Alex calculated the distance to the first target and the arc of the organic shells, as well as angling the cannons so as to focus fire on a more concentrated area. When he was ready, all of the necessary calculations taking less then twenty seconds, Alex fired. The result was complete annihilation of the target, and everything within ten feet of it in all directions.

"I would call that a major success. What else can we play with." Alex had already shifted back to normal and was morphing a new weapon before the dust had even settled.

The new weapon was a modified grenade launcher, instead of acidic grenades this one fired small spheres that, moments after landing, "jumped" into the air and fired a volley of spines in a three-hundred sixty degree radius around the sphere, after the spines were fired the sphere quickly dissolved. The most note worthy change for this weapon was that there were two of them, one on each arm, the intent was to launch multiple spheres into enemy positions, launching the spike grenades in pairs, or one right after the other, would be more effective then just throwing them one at a time.

After testing the spike grenades, Alex decided to goof off a little bit. Taking apart the mechanics of the Hellions' Infernal Flamethrower, Alex shifted his insides a bit to accommodate the new ability. Taking aim at a target about forty feet from his position, Alex inhaled, created the necessary chemicals, combined the chemicals in the right amounts, and exhaled. A concentrated stream of fire flew from his mouth to the target, after only twenty seconds of focused fire, the stone dummy was reduced to a pool of molten rock.

A full blown smile was plastered to the LWMDs' face as he looked at the damage his 'joke weapon' could cause. Quickly shifting only his hands to the form he had come up with before he decided that he wanted to breath fire, Alex dashed forward while rising into the air, as soon as he was close enough he opened fire on the target. The new weapon was based off of the Reapers' P-38 Scythe pistols, they had less range then the barb launchers, but when used at close range they quickly ripped the stone target to pieces, there was a lot more punch to the smaller and denser projectiles. Alex did have to "reload" the weapons after every thirty shots, but it only took four seconds.

There were two more forms Alex wanted to test before he started looking for Protoss to study. Truthfully, it was only one weapon made from the combination of two others, the Siege Tanks 90 mm twin cannons and the 120 mm shock cannon. It took more then a minute to work out a shape that would allow the weapon to function in the same manner as the weapons it was based off of. Alex examined the huge pair of cannons that had replaced his right arm, just like the Strike Cannons he had to be in hardened armor and standing still to use this weapon.

Alex took a couple of shots at the targets with the primary fire mode, each one was reduced to dust by the duel organic shells striking simultaneously, once that was tested it was time to see how the shock cannon mode worked. Alex morphed a set of braces on each leg, anchoring him to the ground, and then switched the twin cannons over to shock cannon mode. It would take some practice before he could properly compensate for the recoil of the siege weapon, but his aim was almost perfect, each psionically accelerated shell hit its' mark, two were off center, but that could be worked around. The shock cannon took ten seconds to "reload", while the twin cannons only took five.

Shifting back to normal and growing wings, Alex ordered his, as yet unnamed, creatures to follow him. He didn't wait to see if they were following, he could sense them anyway, Alex launched into the air and flew toward a military outpost that should have what he needed.

**"Base is Under Attack. Base is Under Attack. Base is..."** The automated alarm continued to pointlessly state the obvious, as the marines struggled to keep the humanoid in their sights long enough to fire at it, they were not doing well. The Marauders that had been stationed there had gone down fast when the second creature had arrived, it hadn't seemed to care if it hit them or not when it started lobbing acid grenades about the base, they just had the bad luck of being to slow to get away from the spray of acid from the explosions, if the blasts themselves didn't do the job.

The second creature was hard to hit, surprising considering its' size, but the humanoid was impossible, just when you thought you had it the damned thing would jump out of sight, or practically disappear, it moved to fast for the marines to keep up. Five of the marines were dead, but only two had been killed by the creature, the other three were taken out by friendly fire, the thing seemed to be trying to make them shoot each other.

While the Terran troops were doing their best to track the two aliens, Alex was busy dismantling a missile turret. It took about five minutes, with the help of five biomass puppets, to get the parts he needed, which was most of the structure, ready for transport. The troops defending the base didn't notice anything strange ten minutes later, when the injured creatures turned and fled, they were just glad that the things were gone, and hoped there weren't more of them. They had only managed to injure the humanoid creature by putting their backs to a wall and all firing on the same spot when one shouted that he saw it, this had however gotten most of them seriously hurt when the larger creature began firing on them directly instead of taking shots at the base at random.

Back in the crater again, Alex was putting the, now heavily modified, missile turret back together. He was pretty sure he could get into orbit on his own with no trouble this time, but he wanted to try something new. The structure was now more of a silo then a turret, he had built a capsule as well and was making the final adjustments when he sensed a team of Ghosts approaching from the north-west. _"Not the nicest people around, and I could use some more power to make sure this works."_

Alex burrowed into the ground and tunneled towards the advancing Ghosts while shifting into a form he had based on the Nydus worm. While nowhere near as large as a true Nydus worm, Alex's Burrow Beast form was a much more direct threat then the creature it was based off of.

The five man team took cover behind some rocks, it looked like Marauders had been using the area for target practice. _"Everyone linked?"_ The team leader wanted to double check that the telepathic communication line was still working right, didn't need to lose track of someone while trying to deal with something that could steal a whole missile turret without being seen. He was answered with four telepathic voices, _"Yes sir."_

_"Okay, anyone see the target?"_

_"No, just the other two, no sign of a third contact sir."_ All five Ghosts were looking around the crater, they didn't see how this thing had stolen the whole building without being seen, even if it was cloaked someone should have noticed. They didn't see anything else in the crater besides the other two creatures reported to have attacked the base, the humanoid was holding a stolen C-14 rifle.

If giant worms were capable of doing so, Alex would have been laughing, not being noticed was easy when everyone was distracted, and even easier when you could just tell people to not see you. Now he was trying to decide which Ghost to eat first, and how to do it. He could jump out of the ground and come down on top of one of them, he could do the opposite and come up under one with his mouth open, if he really wanted to scare them he could drag one of them down with a tendril. _"Choices, choices."_

He decided to combine two of the options. A Impaler Tendril slipped up out of the ground and wrapped around one Ghosts leg, before any of them noticed it, Alex hurled the Ghost into the air, thankfully he dropped his gun, complicated machines were still impossible for Alex to fully deconstruct and absorb, the same went for things with too much inorganic matter. As the confused Ghost fell, while his team could only watch in confused shock, Alex shot out of the ground like a missle, meeting the now terrified man twenty feet off the ground, Alex opened his mouth of razor-like teeth, consumption tendrils were already prepared to begin taking the victim apart.

The remaining Ghosts just stared at the patch of slightly loose soil where the creature they had just seen had disappeared. All of them had one collective thought.

_"What. The. Hell?"_

Alex didn't give them more time to think of anything else, one of the Ghosts was pulled screaming along the ground ten feet before vanishing into the dirt, another was lifted into the air as Alex surfaced beneath her, while she was shocked, she managed to control herself and get a shot at him, the projectile barely dented the hard shell this form was protected by, before the Ghost could fire again Alex flipped her onto the ground and opened his mouth, both disappeared under the earth moments later.

The last two began firing into the ground, if Alex were still in that area some of those shots may have hit him, but he had burrowed deeper and moved around behind them. _**"I wouldn't turn around if I were you."**_ This was only sent to one of the two, the team leader was left alone shooting into the dirt, the man who heard the telepathic message turned around, not the smartest thing he could have done.

Alex burrowed back into the dirt before the last Ghost could even register the strangled shout from his team mate, or realize what the large thing that had just shot past him was.

_**"I did warn him, but no, he just had to turn around. You didn't do a very good job instilling discipline into your team you know."**_ Alex shifted back to normal and burrowed back to the surface, right behind the last Ghost.

_"This cannot be happening! We were still cloaked, there is no way it could have seen us. How did it know we were here? No one said anything about it burrowing! Or being telepathic! Damnit!"_ These were the Ghosts last thoughts before Alex split him in two and consumed him.

"Turns out eating detectors is a good idea, 'You are what you eat.'" Alex sprinted back to his launch pad. "Okay looks like everything's ready." He quickly consumed the creatures, couldn't just leave them to their own devices. After making sure the launch sequence couldn't be interrupted, Alex climbed into the capsule and began charging it with psionic power as the countdown started.

As the capsule was blasted into the sky at three times the correct escape velocity, Alex shouted and sent a telepathic message to every living thing in his considerable range.

**"To Infinity, and Beyond!"**

_**"To Infinity, and Beyond!"**_

Once in orbit, Alex opened a warp rift directly in front of the capsule. Unlike his first rift, Alex actually aimed this one.

"You Will Discover a War You're Unable to Win!" Dana had once told him she thought this song was a good fit for him, at the time Alex hadn't known what she meant, but thinking about what had happened on Earth, and what he had done since coming to the Koprulu Sector, Alex had to admit it was somewhat fitting. He continued singing as he walked through the jungle, ignoring the eleven Dark Templar that were following him.

One hour and four songs later, Alex jumped straight up, to anyone without thermal vision, or who wasn't a detector, it looked like he had just decided to impersonate an ICBM at random. The young Dark Templar who had just tried to kill the human intruder was extremely confused, mainly by the fact that he had missed, but also because humans are not capable of flying under their own power.

"That was kind of rude you know. Just attacking someone out of the blue like that. Was my singing really that bad?" Alex floated down, landing on a large boulder. "Although, that's not the worst part of this, that has got to be the fact that you've been following me for more then an hour. Humans call that stalking, and it is usually considered a serious crime."

All eleven Dark Templar de-cloaked, though the three youngest only did so at the command of their elders. "What are you? You are clearly not human, from you we feel the power of the Void, but also the presence of the Zerg. Tell me, how is it that you knew we were following you?" The most experienced warrior of the group chose to act as speaker for his brothers. Alex had decreased the level to which he was hidden by his psionic power, he wanted to be found after all.

"Still a little rude, but I've seen worse, and been guilty of it myself. What am I? Good question, but at this point I can't really tell you, since I've changed so much I'm not really sure myself anymore. I knew you were there because an Overseer would have seen you, and even failing that, the jumpy guy there makes an awful lot of noise, hearing that all I would have had to do was look for body heat." Alex couldn't be sure since Protoss had little in the way of facial features, but he was betting that most of them looked confused.

"You cannot tell us what you are, or won't tell us?"

"About a week ago I would have told you, but I don't think the answer I would have given then is true now. Like I said, I've changed a lot."

"Why do we sense the Zerg with you, even if only faintly?"

"That has a very simple, if odd, answer. I ate a few Zerg."

"What!" This was from all of those present, though the intensity of their shock varied from one to another.

"I take the old saying 'You are what you eat' a bit more literally then most. Like the Zerg I can absorb other lifeforms into myself, the difference being that I'm one being, not a whole species." Alex was enjoying this, he couldn't stop smiling.

"So the Zerg are a part of you, but they do not control you? How?"

"I had a lot of practice dealing with invasive minds in the past, took a while to make sure my personality couldn't be overridden by another, but with the force of a few hundred human minds, a couple of Zerg weren't a problem, after I figured out how to shield my mind completely, it was no trouble adding the rest of the Zerg strains to my collection."

The moron that had ignored orders once already decided that what Alex had said was reason enough to consider him an enemy, the other two young warriors seemed to feel the same. The three of them cloaked themselves again and rushed forward, ignoring the shouts of the older warriors.

Alex let the first strike hit him, and regretted it. Though he didn't allow any sign of it to show, that had really hurt, it was no where near enough to be considered a threat, but it meant that unlike humans, Protoss didn't need to bring out high caliber weapons to hurt him. Alex launched himself backwards, avoiding the other two attackers and healing the cut in his shoulder, it healed much slower then he would have liked, apparently warp blades caused enough cell damage to slow the regeneration of the effected area. He would have to assume other Protoss weapons would have a similar effect on his regeneration.

Alex created a psionic shield around his right arm as it morphed into blade form, this gave him an idea he would have to test later. His energy encased blade easily stopped the young Protoss' warp blades. Alex made sure to watch them carefully, the more he could learn about them without having to consume one, the better. Alex quickly realized that if he was going to seriously fight a Dark Templar, he needed a smaller blade, while the original had power and was fairly quick, it was just to big and clumsy to fight evenly with a smaller blade. Alex could have killed these three younger warriors easily, but he could tell that the older warriors would be far more skilled, and while he did have the means to simply overpower them, he didn't want to rely on such a simple-minded tactic.

Alex had led the three younger warriors further from the rest while they fought, he had intended to drag the fight out as long as he could before the older warriors could stop their foolish younger brothers. Now the older Templar had caught up, and had begun to subdue the younger warriors.

"Are you mad? You can not rush into battle blindly."

"Were you three not listening? This being has defeated enemies far more dangerous then the three of you."

"In truth, I believe he is holding back. You could crush us with little trouble, couldn't you?"

"Honestly? Yes, but I would rather not just blast my way through everything with shear force. A well placed blade can get things done just as easily as a nuke, and with a lot less fallout." Alex morphed his arm back to normal while devoting a little bit of focus to making a blade better suited to fighting, his original was really only meant for cutting tanks in half, it didn't do well in a contest of skill.

"If he is Zerg, then he is our enemy!" One of the younger Templar still felt like arguing.

"Kids these days." Alex sighed in the most condescending manner he could. "Look, if I was your enemy, do you really think your organs would still be inside your bodies? I let myself be found, because I figured I could learn more about psionic abilities the old fashioned way, but if you're offering to make things easier, I could just consume you and be done with it, though I don't think you know as much as I would like to learn."

All of the Protoss present were more then a little unnerved by the casual manner in which Alex had suggested he eat one of them.

"I do not think that will be nesseccary. You wish to learn of the power you have but do not understand?" Again the most experienced warrior was speaking for the group.

"Correct. I can think of a number of uses for it, but it would be easier to work with if I knew more about it. The Zerg use their power instinctively, so I didn't learn much from them." Alex could see where this was going, they were going to ask him for help in exchange for teaching him their ways, it reminded him of those video games some of 'Them' had been fans of.

"Do you know why we are here?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with that outpost in the middle of the jungle."

"Exactly. Our people have only recently began to come together again, but many High Templar do not agree with this alliance, and they have followers who feel the same. My brothers and I, as well as a number of other troops, were sent here to investigate when we learned that several of the High Templar had gathered on this planet, they brought their followers with them. We have found that they intend to bring yet another civil war to our species."

"And you want to ask me to help you deal with them?" Alex smirked.

"Correct. If you are as powerful as I believe, then dealing with the problem should be simple, we will not need to resort to a full scale battle to subdue the rebel Templar and their followers." The lead Dark Templar extended his hand. "Will you aid us?"

"Alex Mercer, pleasure to be working with you." Alex introduced himself and shook the offered hand.

_"Now that is a well defensed base, why aren't humans ever that thorough?"_ Alex was standing on a cliff almost a mile from the base, he could see it clearly enough, it was obviously meant to hold up against a siege.

At the moment Alex was alone, the Protoss he had agreed to help were going to be breaking into the base from the opposite direction, after he took down the defenses. They wanted as few deaths on both sides as possible, so Alex was going to go in first, since he was undetectable he could incapacitate a large percentage of the enemy troops without revealing that an attack was imminent.

_"Commencing Operation."_ Alex grinned as he disappeared into the ground.

Alex surfaced quietly behind one of the three Assimilators within the base. He had developed a chemical that would leave a Protoss unconscious, without alerting those in contact with them that something was wrong. Creating a gas grenade in the palm of his hand, Alex waited for the new patrol to pass the blind spot, no one would see the ten zealots go down. He had memorized the patrol patterns and decided to begin right after the shifts changed, this way he could take them down without anyone realizing that someone was late for their shift, or the new guys showing up just in time to see the first guards go down.

The gas would keep them out for hours, but that didn't mean he could take his time, he had to deal with at least twenty-five percent of the troops before the party started. Taking down a fourth of the troops was Alex's own goal, he had a habit of racking up a body count wherever he went, he was determined to limit unnecessary casualties as much as possible.

Seven of twelve zealot patrols down, soon they're absence would be noticed. Alex marked every Immortal in the base and prepared to overload their systems, once that was done there was no way the remaining Protoss wouldn't figure out that something was wrong.

Alex released a pulse of psionic energy into the connection between the remaining conscious Protoss, and into the systems of the Immortals, the latter were all knocked out since their mechanical systems were shut down by the pulse, the former were temporarily crippled by the mother of all headaches that Alex's attack had caused them.

While the organic units were busy twitching on the ground, the combat drones began searching for the source of the attack, a Sentry came close, but it turns out plasma shields don't stop attacks that come from inside the bubble. Alex had chosen not to expend energy trying to bring down the Colossi with the pulse, he wanted to deal with them directly.

Alex decided to test the idea he had come up with when shielding his blade from the Dark Templar's warp blades. Shifting his arm and spinning to his right, Alex sent a focused burst of psionic energy along the blade, the result was a wave of power flying from the weapon towards the Colossus that had just spotted him. The attack struck the robots shield and vanished, but Alex could tell that it had been effective, a few more would bring the shield down, and then it would just be a matter of taking out the machine itself.

Alex flew to the top of the Cybernetics core and shifted both arms to claws, he began slashing through the air rapidly, each swing sending four psionic blades flying at the Colossus. While the attack had less punch coming from the claws, it was still very effective, even got the robot to risk shooting at him despite the fact that it would mean hitting one of their own buildings. Alex flew into the air, the beams from the Colossus' Thermal Lances passing just below him.

_"Avoid at all costs, warp blades are bad, those are probably a lot worse."_ Alex shifted to his acid grenade launcher and opened fire on the Colossus, his last attack had disabled its' shield. The grenades themselves did little damage to the giant machine, but that's what the acid was for. It didn't take long to bring the first Colossus down, but now the other four had taken notice and were firing on him, since he was flying they had little chance of hitting him, but the squadron of Phoenix's on the other hand had better luck.

Dodging the Ion cannon shots from one or two of the fighters wasn't that hard, the problem was that there were twenty of them all shooting at him at once. After nearly losing a wing, Alex decided to bring the fight back to ground level, he still had to take out the Photon Cannons before the strike team could move into the base and give him a hand. Spreading his energy above the base, Alex focused on the ground, and pushed, all airborne units in the area were forced to the ground, rough landing but they were all alive. A bonus of the tactic was that the remaining Colossi were knocked to the ground too, Alex dealt with them after making sure the Phoenix's wouldn't be a threat anymore.

Before the pilots could recover and try to take off again, Alex ripped the weapons off the vehicles, and tore out the propulsion systems, he almost missed the last two, but in the end all the fighters were grounded. Two hours ago there had been a Carrier above the base, Alex was glad he had waited for it to leave, having to deal with Interceptors would have been really annoying, as things stood there were no more combat capable air units in the area at the moment.

Once the Phoenix pilots had been disabled, Alex shifted to Hardened Armor and Strike Cannons, the remaining ground forces, more then two-hundred zealots, were heading for his position at that moment, so he felt it would be best to just take out the Pylons now and get his back-up into the battle before he had to ruin his record of not killing anyone during this operation.

"Another one bites the dust." Alex was having trouble maintaining his shield under the attacks of the zealots, and accurately targeting the Pylons at the same time, but that hadn't stopped five of the large crystal formations from being demolished. The last Pylon was, unfortunately, placed in a location that would require Alex to expose himself to fire from the seven Photon cannons that it was powering. "Okay, fine, let's just take speed this up a little."

Alex morphed back to normal and burrowed into the ground. Getting some distance from the zealots, and the Photon cannons, Alex surfaced and shot into the air, he couldn't convince the cannons that he wasn't there, so he would just have to take out the Pylon in the quickest manner possible, one that would leave him much less open to fire from the energy weapons he was beginning to hate.

Creating another shield and shifting back to Hardened Armor, this time with Hammer fists, Alex dove back toward the ground. His aim was perfect, the Pylons shield shattered when he hit it, and the crystal broke easily under the impact of roughly sixty tons striking it at nearly four-thousand miles per hour.

It took Alex a few seconds to dig himself out of the ground, he had hit a little to hard apparently, when he was on the surface again he was happy to see his Protoss allies storming into the base and quickly capturing most of the stunned zealots before they could recover from the shock of Alex's imitation of a meteorite. Of course nothing's ever easy, so Alex was not surprised when one of the zealots on his side was blasted off his feet by an attack from one of the High Templar who had decided to make an appearance.

"You dare attack us? What makes you think you can stop us? We will not allow those corrupted by the Void to destroy our way of life!" Not the best angry religious guy speech Alex had ever heard, but it was obvious the Templar hadn't seen what had happened, they just knew they were attacked and there were Dark Templar involved. From what the Templar said, more specifically the way he said it, Alex could already guess that they wouldn't be taking him, or the other Templar, alive.

_**"Hey, back off a bit, let me handle them."**_ Alex sent the message to his allies only. "Alright, hold on, I need to talk to you."

The Templar was shocked to notice the human, he hadn't even seen him while he was practically right in front of him. "Anyone who allies themselves with these monsters has signed their own death warrant human. We have nothing to say to you."

"Is that a trait of your species, being rude to strangers who haven't done anything to deserve it?" Alex may have been smirking, but he did not like what he knew was coming, in a battle of psionic power he may have the advantage in raw energy and force, but the Templar actually knew what they were doing, he was just making things up as he went along.

"Insolent human, regret your foolish choice of allies in oblivion!" Four of the Templar who had exited the Nexus shouted in unison, as they hurled their combined power at him.

To his credit, Alex managed to not show just how much the bolt of psionic power had actually hurt him, almost five humans worth of biomass lost from one attack, and they had only expended a small amount of energy since they thought they were just taking out an ordinary human.

_**"Don't tell me that's the best you've got."**_ Alex shifted to Armor and brought up a psionic shield while the Templar were trying to understand what had just happened.

Alex didn't give the shocked Protoss time to recover, if they realized how tough he actually was before he could wear them down a little they would be a major threat. Alex sent a Psionic Wave devastator at the still stunned Templar, but they recovered in time to avoid the attack. All seven of them retaliated with bolts of psionic lightning, which Alex easily avoided, and countered by telekinetically launching debris from a fallen Colossus at them.

"You may wield our powers, but you know nothing of the art, you cannot win."

_**"Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one."**_ Alex sprinted around the burst of psionic force the Templar had launched at him, shifted his right arm, and pulled back the armor piercing weapon. The Templar that had launched the attack had not recovered from the effort and was to shocked to move even if that were not the case. The weapon connected with the plasma shield, the shield flared dangerously even before the true attack struck, the drill-like spear burst through the shield and punched a hole in the Templar's chest.

Alex pushed a good deal more power into his shield as he consumed the unfortunate Protoss, he was going to need a moment in order to decrease the remaining Templar's advantage of knowledge a bit. As the more complex armor and machines that the Templar had had fell to the ground, Alex began organizing the memories and fully assimilating the ones he could use without any trouble from lack of training or experience.

_**"Alright, now let's see how you do when I'm not oblivious to the potential this power has."**_ Alex flickered, ten duplicates appeared around the original. The doppelgangers were only a tenth as durable as the real Alex, and they couldn't shift or consume, but they could take a few hits and could hurt the enemy if they got the chance.

Alex, and his clones, all fired bolts of red psionic lightning at the, once again, shocked Templar, they were able to avoid the majority of the attacks, but their shields had been noticeably depleted by the shots that made contact.

The clones did fairly well, and the goal of wearing the Templar down was accomplished. The psionic clones could only survive three or four direct hits from the Templar attacks, but that was enough to put the Templar on the defensive.

More debris was thrown, bolts of lightning lanced through the air, the clones were all destroyed, but that didn't mean the Templar could rest, Alex was getting better with the more refined use of psionic power. Two glowing red orbs flared to life in the LWMDs' hands, Alex hurled the projectiles at the now thoroughly frightened Templar, on contact with any solid surface the orbs exploded with about the same force as a D-8 charge, this was a fairly simplistic psionic attack, just an over charged bolt of force really.

_**"Wow, I thought this was going to be harder then fighting the Zerg, from what your friend believed I was expecting a real challenge here, but you guys are almost as pathetic as zerglings. The zealots put up a better fight then this."**_ Alex continued to taunt the Templar while throwing one explosive psionic charge after another.

The six remaining High Templar spread out and returned fire, they were not going to run away, they were certain they could kill the abomination. Alex knew that a psionic storm would hurt, a lot, but he also knew that they wouldn't risk it at such close range and definitely not in their own base, so he just focused on avoiding or blocking their attacks. One of the Templar slipped up, just what Alex had been waiting for, he got to close to Alex, and to far from his comrades. Alex spread his energy out in the area around him forming a red cloud, this would not only prevent them from seeing where he was, it would also disperse some of the power in any psionic attack launched into it.

Alex burrowed into the ground while switching to thermal vision, the Templar that had gotten to close was obviously too worried about where Alex was to even think about trying to get out of the cloud, he had already tried to force it away, but the cloud just absorbed the energy and got bigger. Alex slid up out of the dirt silently, just behind the soon to be consumed Templar.

_**"You know, if you had just backed up a few feet you would have lived a little longer."**_ As he thought this, Alex slammed his hand through the Templar's back.

The psionic cloud cleared just in time for the five Templar to watch another of their own dissolve into the creature they were fighting. Alex added the new memories to the archive and turned toward the outraged Protoss who still thought that they could win without any trouble, Alex changed their minds when he demolished half the Gateway with one of his over charged force bolts.

The five Templar exchanged quick glances, they came to a decision, three of the five hurled another combined attack at Alex, he strengthened his shield and took the attack head on, while this was happening the other two Templar began merging. Alex was concerned and happy at the same time , concerned because he had no reliable method of dealing with beings made of energy, happy because this would give him a chance to come up with a way to deal with it in the future.

Alex continued to let his shield take blow after blow from the Templar, he was busy watching the merging while focusing on how it felt on the psionic level. Soon enough it was over, an Archon now loomed behind the three Templar. Alex had to exert a conscious effort to not morph a zergling like smile onto his face, he needed to see it one more time to be sure, but he was almost certain he knew how to not only beat an Archon, but consume it as well.

The Archons' first act was to blast Alex off his feet, the force of the psionic bolt was far beyond what any one Templar, or three working together, could manage, but his shield held. Alex braced himself for the next attack, his shield again held and this time he was not sent flying through the air. _"Now I just need them to think this is the only way they can beat me."_

The Archon and the Templar continued to attack, Alex dropped some power from his shield and let a bit of the Archons attacks through, just enough that they would think he couldn't stop it. Alex punched the ground, the attack missed, just as planned. Alex attacked the Protoss again and again, but made sure the attacks either lacked power, or missed, from the perspective of his enemies it seemed he was having trouble focusing, it didn't take long for them to begin thinking exactly what he wanted them to think. Alex made sure they would do what he needed them to when his shield "broke" when a shot from the Archon hit it, the shot passed through the fading barrier and struck Alex in the chest, throwing him through the air.

Alex pulled himself to his feet, making sure it looked like he was having a hard time standing, and suppressed his healing, though he didn't need to do much, the energy from the attack had damaged his cells enough that they were taking twice as long to heal as they should have. Alex brought up a much weaker shield, and shifted to Hardened Armor, he then created a biomass shield on each arm and put them between him and the Archon.

The Templar were predictable, they thought and did exactly what he wanted, he hoped they weren't the best examples of the species, that would be depressing. Two of the remaining Templar began merging, the Archon and the only High Templar left continued firing at him, thinking that they were keeping him from running away or attacking. While the Protoss pounded away at his defenses, Alex focused all of his senses on the soon to be Archon, it felt slightly different from the first time, but that was obviously because it was a different set of Templar this time, other then the change in participants the entire thing was the same, Alex knew how to deal with them now.

As the second Archon joined the first, towering over the Templar, Alex dropped his shields, psionic and biomass, and burrowed into the dirt. Their enemy having fled, the Protoss finally realized that the Dark Templar and the other Protoss had retreated, taking the captured renegades with them. Alex surfaced about fifty feet from the near panicking Protoss and shifted back to normal, a huge grin plastered over his face.

"So, you really didn't realize I was a distraction for the first five minutes?" The monstrous grin just got worse when the Protoss turned around, if the Templar had a jaw, it would have dropped.

"Even without soldiers we can still deal with you. Did you think we hadn't noticed you were unwilling to fight an Archon? You couldn't fight one, how do you intend to defeat two at the same time?" The Templar had recovered somewhat, he was still shaken, but his arrogance had returned full force, his condescending vocal pattern was back as well.

Alex just stared at them for a moment, then he burst into a fit of psychotic laughter. As he continued laughing, he began to glow, an angry red aura quickly surrounded him. When he finally stopped laughing, Alex looked back to the Templar, his eyes glowing red.

"You really did fall for it. I won't lie, the Archons are a threat to me, but no more so then the Colossi, they can damage my cell structure, but that's it, there's no way just these two can put out enough power to kill me." Alex nearly burst out laughing again. "By the way, I don't intend to defeat them, I intend to eat them."

Before the comment could really register with either the Templar or the Archons, ten Psionic Tendrils lashed out from the aura that had surrounded Alex, the tendrils covered the distance to their targets in seconds, wrapping around the energy beings, ignoring the shields. Through a combination of his psionic powers, Impaler Tendrils, knowledge of energy frequencies, and the Feedback ability he had gained from the first Templar he ate, Alex ripped the two Archons consciousnesses to pieces, and absorbed the energy that they were made of.

The power wasn't overwhelming, but it was interesting to gain that much energy from just two beings, four technically, but not the point. The last High Templar was clutching his head, still hearing the screams of the four Templar whose merged essence had just be torn apart. Alex, no longer glowing, walked calmly over to the Templar, stopping only five feet from the traumatized being.

"Now, what were you saying about me having no chance of surviving this encounter?" Alex smirked at the feelings of terror he was getting from the Templar. "I was supposed to capture you all alive if possible, but you just had to do things the hard way." Alex battered his way through the Templar's mental defenses. "Enjoy life as a turnip." Alex took all the information he needed from the Templar's mind, and then wiped everything else.

Alex shifted his wings into place and flew into the sky to catch up with the Dark Templar. The only living thing left in the base was a Protoss with no more consciousness then a vegetable.

Two days ago Alex had finished supplying the Protoss with all the information he had gained from the Templar he had consumed, though they were not happy to hear how he had acquired the information. He was now learning what they were willing to teach him, he knew most of it from those he had consumed, but there were plenty of new things to learn, especially from the Dark Templar, he was quickly mastering his psionic power, and had even begun learning to fight with two different types of warp blade.

Alex was overjoyed when the Executor of the base agreed to give him access to all the information regarding Protoss technology and history, this permission was given for two reasons, the first was that they didn't want to risk him deciding to just take the information he wanted, they didn't know if they could stop him if that happened, the second reason was because he seemed to genuinely want to learn, not just about psionic powers or Protoss weapons, he wanted to learn everything he could.

Alex had realized four-hundred thirty-six years ago that, without an enemy to fight, he was a scientist above all else, he hadn't been able to decide if it was because his personality was based, if only loosely, off of Alexander Mercer, or if somehow all of the scientists he had consumed had instilled a natural curiosity into him, in the end he had decided it didn't matter. He was a scientist and that would not change.

Alex had found more reasons to avoid fighting Protoss if he could help it, he was pretty sure that he would not survive if someone decided that the cost was worth it and fired a Motherships Planet Cracker at him. Beyond finding reasons to avoid making the Protoss angry, Alex also found new ways he could improve his abilities by applying Protoss science to them, a particular item of interest being the matter to energy conversion ability of the Warp Prism, and the reverse of the process as well.

Once he was able to perform any feat of psionic power a fully trained High Templar could, and had reached the point where by simple skill he could defeat three experienced Dark Templar in a sparring match at the same time, Alex decided it was time to find a place to apply his new information to his original powers. Thanking the Protoss, and giving a few suggestions on how they could deal with future problems, Alex Blinked away. (When Alex Blinks, he disappears in the same manner as Ai Enma from Hell Girl, the same effect is used for when he arrives.)

Arriving at a fairly secluded valley deep in the jungle, Alex got to work. First he wanted to apply Protoss energy weapons to his arsenal, starting with the Ion cannons of the Phoenix. Working with the semi-mechanical crystal systems of Protoss technology was significantly more difficult then simply imitating the machines of the Terran in a fully organic form, but after nearly an hour he found a method that would allow him to perfectly replicate Protoss technology, and in the process he found a way to consume simple machines, it would take some practice before he could eat a Siege Tank or a Sentry, but he was on the right track.

"Got it right this time." Alex shifted his arms into Ion cannon form. The changes were similar to Musclemass in that his arms got noticeably larger, the difference was that they lacked the gap between his "radius" and "ulna", and had gaps in the "skin" on the tops that showed a crystal formation running the length of his arms all the way to his shoulders, where the crystals ended in perfectly round gems, the entire formation was a deep red color. He still had hands, but they had not increased in size with the rest of his arms, and were now hidden under portions of armor that extended beyond his wrists, on each of these there was an inch wide round crystal that glowed faintly.

Aiming at one of the dozen or so targets he had set up, Alex fired the concentrated energy weapon on his right arm. A red beam of light lanced through the air and struck the target dead center, the bolt of power burned a hole straight through the stone and continued to fly for another four-hundred feet before fading, had Alex put more force into the shot it would have had far greater range. Alex repeated the test with his left arm, with the same effect, and then fired a few test shots from both simultaneously.

"I will not laugh maniacally, I will not laugh maniacally." Alex repeated this a few times before continuing work on the ability that had prompted the near outburst. When he was finished he couldn't decide whether or not it should go into the 'joke' category or not. Staring straight at his intended target, Alex sent the energy through the new crystal formation, and released it at the stone wall, twin beams of red light flew from his crystalline eyes and began melting the stone, Alex turned up the intensity a bit, this resulted in the beams crackling like lightning and causing a decent sized explosion to occur wherever they were focused for more then a second.

Since multiple Protoss units used the Phase Disruptor, and it was an extremely effective weapon, Alex decided to give it a different treatment then he was giving the other weapons. Alex formed an orb of biomass, shifted it into a recognizable form, and installed a large crystal in the center. The end result of the new weapon looked like a giant flying eyeball, Alex gave it a basic order, it began firing on the targets at random. This was basically an organic version of the orb portion of the Photon cannon, when he ordered it to stop it just started floating off to the side waiting for him to give it further instructions.

The Prismatic Beam of the Void Ray was a bit difficult to replicate, but not impossible. Alex's right arm was now made of a combination of crystal formations and bio-metallic substances, the whole setup had a very graceful and artistic feel to it. The weapon functioned by refracting and reflecting three energy beams through a series of prisms arranged throughout the assembly, with the three beams joining in the final prism located where his hand would normally be, the result was a foot wide beam of energy that could be focused on any desired target for a devastating effect over a short period of time, it could likely demolish a Siege Tank in under a minute, and simply cut through lesser organic units with a simple pass over them.

Seeing no reason to add another continuous beam weapon to his arsenal at the moment, Alex instead focused on the Sentry's other systems. Combining the Force Field and Guardian Shield systems, Alex created a far more powerful shield that he could maintain around himself in a small area, or expand it to protect everything within a one-hundred foot, three-hundred sixty degree radius. Things could exit the shield but, other then air, nothing could enter it, to test the durability of the AODS (Absolute Omni-Directional Shield), Alex created one at maximum power and locked it in place around the newly repaired targets, then he created three more Disruptor Drones and flew into the sky with the four automated units following him. Alex began firing his Ion cannons and Thermal Lance beams at the shield, while the Disruptor Drones joined in with their Phase Disruptor shots. In the end Alex even manifested two dinner plate sized crystals on his back and imitated the Phoenix Overload ability, the shield held even against the massive barrage of firepower.

Once he was satisfied with the new defensive power, Alex moved on to imitating the Interceptors, it was fairly easy, he now had ten three foot wide bio-metallic Interceptors of his own flying around above him. They were much faster then the Disruptor Drones, but had much less fire power, but the fact that they were harder to hit and could attack at more then four times the speed of the Drones made up for their lack of outright force.

Since he was not sure it was a good idea to play with it, Alex decided to think about the Mothership systems more later and just move on to other pursuits for the time being.

The combination of technology and genetics that he was capable of was amazing, and more then anything he wanted to know how far he could take it, he had no reason for this beyond wanting to know the full potential of evolution, he, and 'They', had read stories and theories about just how far life could advance under the right circumstances, and now he was in a position to push the normal limits that held life in check, he could find out what the full potential of living beings truly was. For the first time in its' five-hundred years of existence, the being that called itself Alex Mercer had a real goal besides making sure no one created another monster like him.

Alex spent three days playing with the new abilities he had gained, he now had basic templates for several different new forms he had been thinking about trying, mostly based off of Protoss ships since they were more pleasant to look at then the flying boxes humans seemed to prefer, he had ideas for more drone units, though he still didn't have names for the original two, the second load-out of the first not really counting as a different unit. He had improved the Impaler Tendrils as well, the spear points on the ends of the tendrils could now be replaced with a modified version of any of his weapons, the melee ones or the newer ranged weapons, he could also simply place hands on the tendrils which he was sure would allow him to get a lot more done once he could find a lab to work with.

The longer he went without a battle to fight the more alive he began to feel, just being able to think about the science behind the Protoss and their incredible powers or the Zerg and their seemingly supernatural evolutionary potential, made Alex wonder why Alexander had been so concerned with profit or fame, all he could bring himself to care for now was what he could learn.

Alex had been so intent on his study of the base DNA sequence that had led to the creation of the Ultralisk, that he didn't notice the enormous creature drop out of a Warp Rift in high orbit and begin expelling smaller creatures as it got closer to the ground. He didn't even notice the Overlords dropping swarms of zerglings and Hydralisks, or the swarms of Mutalisks and other flying monstrosities heading towards him, what he did finally notice that got his attention was the presence of a Zerg strain he had not encountered and had only found small amounts of information on in the Zerg genetic memory.

Alex abandoned his internal examination of the stored DNA and turned to look at the sea of living beings charging in his general direction. The first on the field were, as always, zerglings, but there were far more of them then he had previously seen at one time, he counted at least six-thousand, and that was without even putting any effort into the act, there were nearly just as many Roaches and only a slightly smaller number of Hydralisks. Infestors and Banelings seemed to be fewer in number and hold closer to the back of the advancing army, while in the air Mutalisks and Broodlords were flying in formations made up of at least twenty of the creatures in question, Alex counted ten groups of each at the forefront of the swarm.

Corruptors, Overlords, and Overseers seemed to be hanging back, they likely didn't want to give him a chance to get close to the creatures that prevented the normal troops from going homicidal on their own kind, while figuring that the Corruptors would be the best defense if he attacked through the air.

Alex only spared a few moments for the lesser Zerg, he knew all he needed to about them, he had already consumed many of each strain not that long ago. What he was really interested in was the massive being hovering more then two-thousand feet off the ground, almost ten miles from his current position. The Leviathan was easily larger then the flying cities known as Protoss Motherships, the scale of the creature he was seeing was something that many humans had once thought impossible, this thing could have landed on Manhattan and hidden almost the entire island from view.

Alex didn't even have to delve into the hive mind to know what they were there for, he had made himself a clear threat to the Swarm, he was now being targeted by a full planetary strike force simply because he had managed to scare the Zerg themselves. Alex decided that trying to fight them all was a bad idea, if he got distracted dealing with Hydralisks or zerglings, Roaches or Banelings would have little trouble getting close and dealing a noticeable amount of damage, from the distribution of the Zerg forces Alex could tell that they hadn't realized that acid was an effective weapon against him, that was good and he wanted to keep things that way.

He absolutely had to consume the Leviathan, not just a little bit of it either, as much as he could, even though he had really not wanted a repeat of the incident from 2231, he was going to consume as much of the creature as possible even if it meant losing his form for a little while. He didn't enjoy the idea of having all the echos getting loud again either, so he made sure the 'voices' were locked up as tight as possible.

Alex jumped off of the small cliff where he had been standing, the Zerg ground units would have had to travel around a good portion of the cliff-side before they could have began climbing up towards him, but he wanted to get to the Leviathan quickly. As he crashed to the ground, Alex released a Psionic Wave devastator in a three-hundred sixty degree arc around himself, the attack blasted every zergling and Hydralisk within forty feet of him into bloody chunks which flew every which way.

Before any Zerg could begin closing in on him again, Alex held his hands about a foot apart while releasing a Psionic Storm, rather then let the destructive power simply strike all across the valley however, Alex captured his own attack and held it inside a psionic shield, he then released another of the devastating attacks, but focused it into the ball of power as well, and began to compress it. Alex had not tested this idea yet, the energy cost was high, though not really a problem, but the amount of damage it would cause if it worked hadn't really been worth it for a random test shot, but now it would be the perfect attack for clearing a path toward the Leviathan.

000000000

And this chapter is done. Still have a few things to say though.

Alex didn't get warped to a different universe in this story, he was already in the Starcraft verse, he got to the future the normal way, he lived his way there. Alex spent most of the last five-hundred years just existing on Earth, this version of Alex took about thirty years to wipe out Blackwatch, those guys are really good at hiding when they don't want to be ripped into little squishy chunks.

Alex was sent to the Koprulu sector by a Warp Rift that just opened and pulled him in before he even noticed it was there, where the Warp Rift came from will be explained at the end of the third chapter.

Can anyone guess what Alex is going to do with those condensed Psionic Storms? The idea is to imitate a certain Terran weapon.

Alex would have trouble being close to people knowing that he would just have to watch the world go by as everyone he knows dies while he stays the same, it's a fairly common issue for immortals. This is why this Alex doesn't really care if he ever gets back to Earth, he didn't have anyone to go back to anyway, he is not heartless though, as his actions have shown, though somewhat vaguely.

Feel free to ask any questions you want regarding this story, if there is anything I hadn't thought of I would like to address it before the story ends. I should also note now that directly contacting me, email or something would be a waste of time, I'm not very social, and even less so over the internet.

This story is meant as a way to get around the "God in a Week" problem that generally occurs when Alex is placed in any world with super powers or magic, if it can be learned Alex can take it, and if it is genetic, Alex can take that as well. Getting Alex involved in a DC or Marvel world is pretty much putting a target on every mutant and meta-human around, as long as he plays it smart, Alex could even take down the bigger heroes and villains.

To avoid any "He couldn't take Superman, because no one can beat Superman" comments, Superman has been beaten many times, some of those times it wasn't even by a major villain, yes he comes back, escapes, gets his memory back, or breaks free of mind-control somehow, but the point is that he can be beat, and everyone knows how, he did tell a reporter the best methods of getting around, or shutting off his powers, the first person Alex eats will know how to stop, or kill Superman. Yes there are people in those worlds who could destroy Alex, but just like the factions in this story, they don't know what it would take to beat him, and by the time they do know, it would take a lot more to really get the job done, and he could take them apart with little effort.

I started writing this because there are few places you can put Alex, where he doesn't just become an unstoppable death machine in less then a month, this is not meant to fix the problem, it is meant to get around it by using the problem to make it acceptable in and of itself. I will explain, or someone else will, at the end of the next chapter.

Hob the Biomass Robot


	3. Quick Questions

Quick questions

Not an update, but I have a few things I would like to ask and say.

First, the last chapter is mostly planned out, it will basically be a huge battle between Alex and a couple thousand Zerg, but I would like to know if there is anything anyone would like to happen in the chapter. This includes any powers you can think of that Alex may have gained from everything he has done so far that I have not stated he has.

Do you think Alex should use the drones he can create in the fight, this includes the Disruptor Orbs and the Interceptors, as well as the still unnamed creatures. On that note, can anyone think of something to call those things? The walkers and the humanoid really aren't that easy for me to name, everything I can think of sounds overused or doesn't really fit. If you want him to use them, then how many should he use, it takes time to make them so he couldn't just start spawning them all over the place, there would have to be a limit.

I know that it should take Alex a while to adapt Protoss tech into himself, I didn't do a good job of saying it, but Alex was with the Protoss for quite a few days besides the two he spent telling them everything he had learned about the rebel groups, he spent all that time researching Protoss science and technology, and thinking about how to use it, and then I failed to really show that he did quite a bit of experimenting before he achieved the results he got.

I'm not very good at describing things, either I do to much, or nowhere near enough, the second being what usually happens.

Would it be going to far to create OverMercer? Alex become a parody of the Overmind, he would still have a normal body, normal for him, but create a imitation of the Overmind with a direct link between the two, the OverMercer being an inactive mass of Mercer, while the human shaped Alex is the true being, then if something happens to destroy all of normal Alex's cells, his mind just rides the psionic link back to OverMercer and he creates a new human body from the stored biomass. Does that just seem like going to far, or would it be a good idea? I was going to do it anyway but would like to know if anyone has any objections to the idea.

At the end of the battle, Alex is going to get a **Massive** upgrade, at that point it should be pretty clear that if Alex were to stick around everyone would be royally screwed, but he will be leaving the sector not long after the battle.

I know that this has been a total stomp from the start, and has only got worse since, but I would like to again point out that, in my defense, it is not that they can't hurt him, it is that none of the factions realize how to really damage him, for a little while there were a few Protoss who knew, but their kinda dead now. Even as strong as he is now, if Alex got nuked it would still hurt, a lot. This was written to use the "Alex becomes insanely powerful in almost no time" thing, rather then try to avoid it and it happen anyway, I can think of ways to keep it from happening, but I wanted to use the flaw rather then fight it.

I failed to even mention Alex "researching" things, but he is doing it, at all times, like a Zerg base, or any Starcraft base, he is working on multiple things at all times, he devotes about 15% of his thought to subconscious research most of the time, while the remaining 85% deals with the world in an active manner. During the battle in the third chapter at least one thing he is working on will be finished, what it is and when it is finished will be obvious, because he will use it almost immediately after it is done. On that note, is there anything you think he should be working on during the battle that could be finished before he reaches the Leviathan?

I will be taking a break of sorts before typing and posting the third chapter, in that time I was thinking of writing about post-game Alex in other settings, if anyone has any suggestions for places Alex could go then feel free to mention them, if I don't know the setting I will check up on it and if I can think of a way to use it then it may be done. If you don't want it to be a stomp then say so, I will be trying to avoid blatant stomps, but in certain settings it would be hard to avoid.

Can anyone think of other forms Alex could have, or other creatures he could create, I have a few thoughts but would like other peoples opinions. If you choose to post any ideas for creatures, please name them, I really suck with names, both for people and things, that's why none of the random humans were given names, besides the fact that they weren't around long.

Technically no, it's not a nuke, but it is related. After it works Alex will be making a weapon form specifically for the power, it's a pretty major thing after all. On the note of overpowered abilities, should Alex start imitating the Mothership, the concept one, not the in-game one. I can think of ways to use those but don't know if I should.

Quick question. Does anyone know where I could find a picture of a crab crossed with a lobster crossed with a scorpion crossed with a octopus crossed with a lizard crossed with a Broodlord crossed with an Overseer with a bit of Carrier and Phoenix thrown in? Maybe a Void Ray tossed in just to even things out a little?

I really thought I had more to ask and say, but I seem to have forgotten most of it. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read the nonsense that I have posted thus far, and if it wouldn't be to much trouble, if you haven't already, please look at the other things I have posted and if you wouldn't mind review those too.

Hob the Forgetful Robot


	4. Indestructible

I own very little, and none of it relates to this.

**Indestructible**

Now the conclusion of this little story, challenge, explanation, thing. Alex is going to have more trouble in this chapter then in the first two, but he'll still win, it wont be easy, but he will. I will be doing the OverMercer thing, I hope it works for everyone. Alex will be using all of his powers in here, his original set and the new ones. Since I can't think of anything else to call the weapon, I will just refer to it by the name of the weapon it is based off of, the Pile Bunker, still don't know why it's called that. I don't really have anything more to say at the moment, so I'll just get started.

I stand corrected, one more thing, Alex is imitating the Yamato Gun, the original works by generating a nuclear reaction and then containing it in a magnetic field, compressing it, and then releasing it in a solid stream of nuclear devastation, what Alex is doing is mostly the same, but with Psionic Storms instead of nuclear power. For appearance, think a combination of Lucario's Aura Storm and Samus' Zero Laser from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, if you don't know what those look like just look them up. (Side-note: All of Alex's psionic energy is red. Why? I have reasons, but the easiest to explain is that it looks cooler then the usual pale blue that gets used all the time when someone is using psychic powers, it just feels less generic and fits Alex better then the blue glow everyone else has. So if Alex uses a power that visibly shows psionic energy the energy is red, like Evil Cole's lightning in Infamous 1 and 2)

* * *

><p>Alex released the built up force; the result was a twenty-five foot wide beam of power roaring away from him, the attack traveling a full mile toward the Leviathan, destroying everything in its' path, Alex's arms from the elbows down were also lost in the massive burst of destruction. Regrowing his arms and sprinting down the trench left by his attack, Alex started working on a weapon form that would allow him to use that Devastator without losing his arms in the process.<p>

He had only made it fifty feet down the line of devastation when a mass of zerglings closed in on him from both his right and left, as well as pouring into the trench ahead of him. Alex responded to the minor annoyance with his ordinary fists, smashing and pummeling the creatures out of his way. The next problem presented itself in the form of Hydralisks. Alex shifted to claws and began tearing his way through the serpentine Zerg.

Alex broke free of the mass of Zerg that had slowed his progress and charged face first into a wave of acid from about thirty Roaches. Alex hardened the damaged biomass and shattered it, using his psionic power to launch the shards of organic matter at the wall of Zerg before him. This worked for the most part, but it still left him surrounded and with little choice but to fight. One zergling lost its' head to a left hook, another died when he kicked the unfortunate creature in half. An elbow shattered a Roaches face, a knee crushed a Hydralisks brain, and a pair of zerglings fell to the ground,their bodies shredded by Claws. Alex slashed his way out of the mess and began running toward his target again.

The next obstacle to hinder his progress resembled Terran Marines, but only so much, the Infestors arrayed behind them gave it away just as much as the warped appearance of the former humans. Hammer fists in place, Alex began smashing his way through the barrier the Infested Terran represented. Having plowed straight through the squad of marines, Alex battered his way past the Infestors, consuming a few in the process. As soon as he was able to reach a full sprint, Alex spun around and hurled himself through the air, he was almost at the end of the trench when an Ultralisk stepped into his path, all this meant was a slight modification to the Hammer fists; Alex shifted both arms partway between Hammer fist and Blade, leaving him with a razor sharp wedge. Once he had passed through the Ultralisks torso, Alex shifted to Musclemass and hit the ground running.

While dodging fire from the air units, Alex killed a dozen more zerglings and a couple of Roaches, their armor didn't stand up to his further enhanced strength for more then a few hits. When another Ultralisk got in his way, Alex shifted to Dual Blades and split the behemoth in two with a pair of Psionic Blades. He had made good progress so far, but the Zerg were beginning to get too close for him to have any chance of making it closer to the Leviathan. A change of tactics was definitely required.

A Tendril Barrage cleared the lesser Zerg from the immediate area, a quick sprint and jump later found Alex on top of an Ultralisks head, he had always wondered what would happen if he used the Groundspike Graveyard, _literally on_ a large target; the effect was rather satisfying. As the thoroughly perforated Ultralisk fell to the ground, Alex launched a Critical Pain devastator at the Zerg directly between him and the Leviathan. Having cleared a thirty foot long walkway for himself, Alex shifted both arms to Whip fist and began lashing at the Zerg that attempted to approach him; this worked quite well, for all of twenty seconds.

Without the clear line provided by the Compressed Psionic Beam it was difficult to make his way toward the Leviathan. Hills, creeks, small canyons, there were a number of obstacles besides the Zerg themselves. _"Why couldn't I have picked a nice flat grassland area? Maybe I should call that something else, hard to say Compressed Psionic Beam in conversation."_

Alex slipped into a small cave in the side of a mostly dry riverbed and shifted both arms to Barb Launchers, he needed to thin out the air forces a little bit. It wasn't hard hitting the Mutalisks, and the Broodlords were easy targets too, all Alex had to do was keep up a constant volley of spines from his position and the airborne Zerg began dropping quickly. The spines didn't do much damage, but with enough of them punching small holes in the large creatures size was not really a problem, he wanted to save his other weapons for as long as possible.

After almost two minutes in the cave, it was beginning to get hard to hit anything, what with the bodies that had begun filling up the riverbed and covering the mouth of the small cavern. Alex burrowed into the ground and switched forms, he wouldn't be able to make it all the way to the Leviathan underground, too many gaps, he didn't really want to take the time to burrow almost a mile down just to avoid surfacing at the deepest of the canyons between him and his intended meal.

Alex sped along underground for half a mile before rising to the surface, the moment he broke through the ground he began breathing fire and acid every which way. When the Zerg backed off to avoid the attack Alex shifted to Armor form, sprouted wings, and jumped off the edge of the cliff. On his way down he cut a Nydus worm almost clean through, spilling dozens of zerglings, and the creatures blood, into the mile deep canyon. Then the air units began diving down after him.

Alex weaved and dove around the remaining Nydus worms that were stretched across the canyon, dodging Glaive Wurms from the Mutalisks, while returning fire with spines. Changing directions abruptly, which caused four Mutalisks to fly straight into the cliff-side and another to nearly lose a wing avoiding the same fate, Alex nearly broke out into maniacal laughter, mouth or no mouth. His 'research' of a new form had just been completed, and he was in the perfect position to test it out.

Alex flew straight down and shifted his wings away. He was halfway down the canyon before he began shifting to the new shape. Armor plates expanded and flattened out, arms spread and stretched out before being covered by the armor, his legs fused and became more flexible, all six eyes became crystal and changed their arrangement on his face, which had merged almost completely with his body. Five of the eyes were now arranged around the sixth in a five pointed star formation, the sixth eye had increased in size, proportional to the rest of his body, he was now roughly the size of a Phoenix and had a similar shape, though he also seemed like a miniature Broodlord in appearance. Alex was not sure what to call this form, but he knew he was going to enjoy using it.

Alex pulled out of his dive and raised a Psionic Shield around himself, shaping the barrier to match his form, it only extended about an inch from his 'skin', instead of being a bubble around him. As the Mutalisks that had followed him into his dive pulled up after him, Alex released a swarm of miniature Scourge from two 'hangers' on his back that were hidden by retractable armor plates. The living bombs killed and wounded several of the Zerg and coated the survivors in acid.

Alex flew back up toward the top of the canyon, and as soon as he had a Broodlord in his sights he opened fire with all five Ion blasters. Five of his six eyes had become dedicated weapons, while the sixth central eye was used for sight and general navigation, as well as a targeting system for his more direct weapons. Flying past the dying Broodlord, Alex launched a pair of seeker missiles at a Mutalisk, at the same time releasing another swarm of Scourge.

While the Broodlords were virtually helpless against the aerial assault, the Mutalisks were not, they managed more than a few hits and almost surrounded him more then once over the course of the twelve minute air battle. When Alex saw a dozen or so Corruptors heading into the fray he decided it was time to hit the dirt, literally.

Alex fired a volley of Ion blaster shots and missiles to clear a landing zone. Shifting to Burrow Beast mid-air and diving into the ground, Alex released a batch of Spike Grenades into the air, he didn't see what happened after that, but the dead and wounded Zerg he saw when he surfaced told him it hadn't been a waste of time. Shifting to Hardened Armor and erecting a AODS, Alex morphed his Strike Cannons into position and began firing at random in the general direction of the Leviathan. Once he had cleared, temporarily at least, a path for a good distance Alex shifted to Armor and sprinted toward his target again, happy that the fight in the air had brought him almost two miles closer to the city sized creature.

Just as the Zerg began closing off his path forward, another little project finished the development stage, now it just needed to be tested in a combat situation. _"And I just happen to be in one such situation right now. Pretty lucky there right?"_

Alex directed some of his psionic energy into the air around him and imitated a variation of the Phase Prism's energy to matter system. Ten round neosteel disks materialized in the air, each about a foot wide and clearly meant for cutting through just about anything. Alex used a little more power and got the flying saw blades spinning at what a sane person would call ridiculous speeds. When they were spinning fast enough Alex sent them flying at the Zerg troops, two of which, zerglings, had just jumped at him, they were five feet away when they were each cut in half at an odd angle; this was repeated numerous times by all ten blades on various Zerg units, some Zerg were cut into multiple pieces instead of just being split in half, Alex just trailing along behind the flying death disks. The disks had finally lost enough momentum from passing through their targets to be stopped when they impacted the torso and legs of an Ultralisk.

Alex jumped over the wounded Zerg's attack and shifted both arms to Pile Bunker and prepared to strike the monster. The moment he landed on it's head, Alex drove both weapons into the Ultralisks armored shell, the result was a pair of soccer ball sized holes, about two feet apart from each other, and going about three feet into the creatures head. Alex then pumped a few thousand volts of Psionic Lightning through the bio-metallic spears, right into the Ultralisk's already badly damaged brain. Alex leapt off the lobotomized behemoth and shifted both arms to grenade launchers, Spike on the left, Acid on the right.

Seeing a Hydralisk preparing to fire a volley of spines, Alex chose to preempt the creatures attack; having an acidic grenade go off inside your head appears to be rather painful. A troop of zerglings found themselves doing a decent impression of a pile of pincushions before the unfortunate Hydralisk had even finished thrashing about in pain. Alex continued a quick jog forward, firing grenades left and right for a minute or two before a surge of zerglings forced him to change tactics again. Both of the ultimate weapons' arms returned to normal, except for his hands, those turned into Scythe Pistols.

Alex dashed around, jumped over and slid under the rushing zerglings, firing high density bio-metallic bullets into the vicious little monsters almost non-stop. Alex flipped over a Hydralisk and literally cut it in half with a volley of shots from his close-quarters ranged weapons. After 'reloading' the guns, Alex slid under a swing from an Ultralisk and rolled to his feet behind it just before spinning in a complete circle, and then leaping into the air. As he left the ground every lesser Zerg unit within thirty feet of him fell to the ground; needless to say, they were all very dead.

Alex used a Psionic blast to launch himself higher into the air, landing on a Mutalisks head. The flying worm was not happy with it's stowaway, it was even less happy with the volley of bullets Alex used to remove it's wings. Alex jumped onto a Broodlord and began taking shots at any air unit that got close enough to hit, when the Broodlord he was standing on began flying away from the Leviathan, Alex pumped sixty bullets into it and began jumping from one air unit to another, killing them as he did so.

As he moved, Alex neglected to make sure the last Mutalisk he had used as a stepping stone was really dead before moving on, this resulted in a Glaive Wurm striking him in the side of the head, not a pleasant experience, for Alex or the Glaive Wurm. Alex wasn't too hurt by the attack, but he lost his concentration for just long enough to miss his next target and begin falling back to the ground. In retaliation to the attack that had knocked him off course, Alex shifted to Hardened Armor and Shock Cannon. The injured Mutalisk ended up raining down on the Zerg below as little more then red, gooey confetti.

Alex crashed to the ground, leaving a good sized crater, and a few crushed zerglings. Once he was on his feet again the Shock Cannon was fired once more, the shot was off target but the Ultralisk still lost an arm regardless. Another shot ended the disarmed creatures life, and seconds later a Broodlord got to meet it's own digestive tract, or at least the Mutalisks in the area got to meet it anyway. Two more shots ended a few more Zergs lives. Alex shifted back to base Armor and dropped the AODS he had raised, before launching himself back into the air.

Stopping one-hundred feet above ground, Alex launched an Overload while reestablishing his Formed Psionic shield. The explosive Ion bolts brought down one Mutalisk after another, the Broodlords and Corruptors that got within range lasted longer, and because of them some of the Mutalisks managed to get a few dozen hits in. If it weren't for the shield Alex would have been knocked out of the air again. When the Overload ended Alex shifted both arms to Prismatic Beams and fired both at the closest Corruptor, killing it fairly quickly, after a Mutalisk fell Alex began switching targets at random, rarely focusing both beams on the same target, there was no shortage of Zerg to choose from.

The plan, such as it was, worked. Soon enough a good portion of the Zerg air force was within range of an Omnidirectional Psionic Wave devastator, there would still be more then enough of them airborne to be a threat if he wasn't careful, but any breathing room was good breathing room. The attack tore the Mutalisks apart, the Broodlords and Corruptors were seriously wounded, those that survived anyway. With the skies not quite cleared, but certainly less hostile, Alex dropped to the ground and launched all eight Impaler Tendrils, clearing the immediate area with little difficulty. Now came the fun part.

Sweeping the Thermal Beams from his eyes across the path of the advancing Banelings proved very effective, another pass insured that any survivors weren't survivors for long. After morphing each Impaler Tendril to a different weapon, Alex shifted both arms to Hardened Shields and covered the bio-metallic barriers in razor sharp spikes. With the shields taking any hits from the front and the Impaler Tendrils firing grenades, rockets, missiles, ion beams, and anything else that could keep the Zerg off him for a minute, Alex charged straight into the next wave of Zerg ground forces.

When his biomass shields finally broke under fire from a squad of Infested Marines and Hydralisks, Alex switched all eight Tendrils to Flamethrowers and roasted the offending creatures alive. He was so focused on the enemy dying in front of him that he didn't notice the Ultralisk behind him.

_"How did I not notice something twice the size of a tank walking up behind me?"_ To avoid losing literally half of his body, Alex shifted biomass around the giant blade as it passed through him, he still took notable damage from the near miss, but it was better then ending up with two near unstoppable death machines walking around. As soon as he was free of the blade that had nearly split him in half Alex jumped away from the Ultralisk and turned all eight Flamethrowers on it, adding fire from six Thermal Beams from his eyes brought the Zerg siege unit down in record time.

As it turned out, that was only the first of a large force of Ultralisks, there were twelve more headed straight for him. With the lesser Zerg closing in from all sides and the Ultralisks charging towards him, Alex was overjoyed when the second form he had been working on was ready for use. Erecting an AODS, Alex started decompressing biomass, six more limbs were added as he grew larger, all six of his Armor form eyes grew, but three became larger then the rest, those three were arranged in a triangle pattern on his face, while the smaller three shifted into an upside down triangle, the top two being slightly above the bottom eyes in the larger set, while the last eye was between the bottom eyes of the main triangle. Picture a slightly warped six-pointed star.

His arms shifted to enlarged variations of the biological version of the Sentry turrets gun that were used by the first creature he had created; these would not fire spines however, they were made to fire bigger, long range versions of the high-density bio-metallic bullets the Scythe Pistol weapon form used. When the change to his arms was complete they had shifted to a position slightly below his 'head'. The first two new limbs were very similar to the secondary 'arms' of a zergling, the difference being size and function, the two arms ended in pairs of linked missile launchers, each could fire three projectiles at once, or launch the three in rapid succession, and target land units or air equally.

The other new limbs were legs, nothing really special about them, they were just necessary to keep the form stable, he didn't want to end up off balance and have to change forms because he fell over. They resembled an ants legs, just far more well armored.

On his back, placed a safe distance from the missile launchers and aimed so the weapons wouldn't interfere with one another, was a pair of Shock Cannons. The siege weapons functioned almost exactly like they did for a Siege Tank, the difference between the two was that Alex knew how to use the heavy cannons on air units just as effectively as he did on land-bound targets. Another improvement Alex had made to his Shock Cannons while in this form was that he could use them and move at the same time.

He was now a little bigger then a Siege Tank, not quite as large as an Ultralisk, but he did have a lot more fire power then the lumbering behemoths. The Shock Cannons were not as large as the weapon they were based off of, but they were no less effective; firing both at one of the Ultralisks killed it instantly, though it still took the cannons a few seconds to 'reload'.

The smaller set of crystal eyes released a volley of ion blaster shots on the smaller Zerg units, while the larger eyes launched disruptor bolts at the approaching Ultralisks. Six missiles brought down another of the giants, while a combination of high-density rounds and disruptor shots ended the life of the one beside it.

_(Have to bring this up now, just in case anyone is having trouble picturing this. Alex basically looks like a giant organic Tachikoma from the seventh level of hell at the moment. Again I find myself at a loss for what to call this form.)_

The Ultralisks were less of a problem with the new form, though it would take practice before he could decompress the biomass to enter the form, and then re-compress it to shift back to normal with the same speed he could manage his other shifts. The now spider-like Blacklight construct marched on toward his target, Hardened Shield coupled with Formed Shield limiting the effectiveness of Zerg assaults while his weapons cut a path through the enemy in front of him.

There were only two miles left between him and the Leviathan, and it seemed the Zerg had at least figured out a part of his plans, as on the opposite side of the river he now stood on the edge of was a line of twenty Spine Crawlers, behind them was an equal line of Spore Crawlers. He could see from there that the Zerg were still fortifying their side of the river. _"Well this looks like fun. Thought sarcasm seems kind of pointless, it's not like anyone hears it."_

Shifting back to human form and raising an AODS around himself, Alex shifted biomass into his arms and slammed them into the ground. Two more units were created before the first two had even fully formed, the second set were demolitions and the first two were standard assault forms. Two more of each forms were created before Alex formed a cocoon in each hand and dropped both to the ground before repeating the process. While the Zerg forces on his side of the river pounded away at the shield, Alex flew into the air and began generating cocoons for Disruptor Drones and Interceptors, he wasn't sure how well he could control units in large numbers, so he only made five of each of the air units.

When his strike force was ready Alex launched an Overload on the Zerg around the AODS, once there was little chance of losing any units before they were able to make a dent in the enemy defenses, he ordered them forward. The ten humanoids made it across the river first, they had little trouble evading the Spine Crawlers, and had already engaged the Zerg ground forces by the time the four assault and demolitions units surfaced from their walk under the river. Alex had returned to his airborne form and, along with the Interceptors and Disruptor Drones, was raining fire down on the defense line as well as taking shots at the air units.

The blades and spines of the humanoids proved to be most effective against zerglings and Hydralisks, they were less effective against Roaches and had little to no effect on Ultralisks and air units, while being average against all other Zerg ground units. The assault forms made up for the shortcomings of the humanoids, while the demolition forms dealt with the targets that neither of the other units could really engage. All things considered, the creatures were proving to be more then enough to hold the Zergs' collective attention on the ground, while the units in the air were having problems of their own.

Alex used the distraction his creatures provided to shred his way through the divided air units and fly straight for the Leviathan. He was only a little more then five-hundred feet from the gargantuan life form when it chose to attack him itself, his shield flared and died after the second hit he didn't manage to dodge. Alex dove to the ground and shifted to his new form, where upon landing he raised another AODS and reformed his own personal shields, the whole time he was doing this the Leviathan's tentacles were bashing away at the large fixed shield; it wouldn't hold for long under the combination of the Leviathan and the Zerg forces in the area attacking it from all sides.

Alex sent the order for his units to make their way to his position as fast as possible, while that was done he did his best to clear the Zerg around the shield. Once there were no melee units attacking the shield he turned three Thermal Beams from his larger eyes on the Zerg that were directly between him and his units.

The order was to disengage and get to him as fast as possible, this meant that the humanoids, being the most maneuverable of the ground units, made it to him first, there were only four of the original ten left and all of them were injured, one was barely alive. Only one of the assault forms made it to the shield, none of the demolitions units made it through. One slightly damaged Disruptor Drone made it through, followed closely by two Interceptors.

Switching to Armor form and healing the remaining units, Alex gave them their new orders and prepared to make a run on one of the openings in the Leviathan's sides, that was where Mutalisks kept exiting, so it was likely the best entry point. Alex created a few new Drone type units, they looked almost the same as the Disruptor Drones, but they were not capable of attacking, they were meant solely for defense. Alex cloaked and sent the Shield Drones straight at one of the openings in the Leviathan's side while he shifted to his flight form and flew toward a different opening. His remaining ground units and air units began attacking every Zerg unit they could see, they had been ordered to abandon defense and just aim to kill as many Zerg as they could.

The plan worked, and the Zerg now knew that the Leviathan was his target, but it was too late for the city sized creature to try and retreat. While it and the Zerg air forces had been trying to kill off the Shield Drones, Alex had slipped past a newborn Mutalisk and was now inside the Leviathan.

Inside the Leviathan was very similar to the inside of any other Zerg structure, only much bigger. Alex had already de-cloaked; he wanted the Zerg to know that he was there, they would most likely respond by trying to defend the most vulnerable parts of the flying city, he could just follow the most heavily defended path and find his way to the best spot to start consuming.

As soon as he saw the first group of zerglings heading down the passage towards him he shifted both arms to Light Blades and projected Psi fields around them before charging towards the advancing defenders. A quick dance through the zerglings dealt with them easily, it was just a simple practice form he had learned from the Dark Templar, the more complicated patterns and techniques wouldn't be needed against such minor targets.

It was clear almost immediately that the Zerg were not willing to use extreme force inside of the Leviathan, they had mobbed him with zerglings and Hydralisks, and even sent a few Roaches, but not a single Baneling. They had to know that their acid and explosions were a threat to him. Since they weren't willing to use the suicide units Alex chose to follow the preexisting paths rather then make his own, no need to make them panic and go all out.

Alex hacked and slashed his way through another swarm of zerglings, he had gone as far as he could without directly attacking the Leviathan, it was time to make his own path. He was now as close to the creatures brain as he could get without cutting his way through the internal passages that the Zerg used to transport their units. A single explosive psionic orb left a gaping hole in the vulnerable flesh of the Leviathan, he was going to have to be careful from there on, he didn't want to kill it by accident. Alex placed a fixed AODS over the hole and began making his way through the gargantuan lifeforms body. "_Destination: Brain."_

Without any Zerg to impede his progress, Alex reached the brain of the giant insect-like monster in a matter of minutes, the AODS that had kept the Zerg from following him had shut down just moments ago, they would be there soon, but he didn't care, he was about to go insane for a while anyway.

Alex shifted to Hardened Armor; more surface area meant he could produce more tendrils. He shifted both his arms into Impaler Tendrils and launched sixteen more from his back. All eighteen tendrils shot out in different directions, his arms both went straight into the Leviathan's brain, the other tendrils began spreading as far as they could through the Leviathan's body, smaller tendrils branching from the larger ones as they went. By the time the Zerg units that had been sent to stop the invader arrived, Alex had spread his tendrils so far into the Leviathan that there was no way to remove them without causing fatal damage to the living city, it was far too late to stop what was about to happen.

Alex began the process of consuming the enormous creature, he didn't even notice the spines of the Hydralisks bouncing off his armor, or the zerglings trying and failing to sever his tendrils. The Leviathan began convulsing as its' brain was ripped to pieces, unable to feel it when a good portion of its' nerves were shredded and absorbed into the abomination that had invaded it, it couldn't even send a message to the other Zerg throughout the sector, it was dying and there was nothing it could do to warn the rest of its' species about the possible threat.

To the shock of the Zerg forces still outside, the Leviathan began to fall. The ground forces scrambled to get out of from under the falling fortress, many didn't make it; they were crushed underneath the gigantic corpse. The Leviathan managed one last message to the Zerg present; no matter what it took, they were not to allow the monster that had killed it to escape, even if they all had to die, they could not allow a threat to the Swarm like this to survive.

"What is this?" The Dark Templar that had been sent to investigate the Zerg presence could not believe what they were seeing. The jungle had clearly been the sight of a large battle, they could see dead Zerg strewn across the valley, fires and craters caused by explosions could be seen amongst the devastation.

They saw a mile long trench that extended from the bottom of a cliff out into the jungle, none of them had ever seen a weapon that could cause something like that used on the ground. The trench was full of the bodies of Zerg, they had died in a variety of ways it seemed, even from the distance they were at it was clear that some had been killed with a blade, others with simple brute force, some were obviously the victims of acid or fire. It was a disturbing sight simply because they saw no bodies that were not Zerg, whatever the creatures had fought had suffered no losses it seemed, that was a frightening prospect, an army that could engage such a large Zerg force and lose nothing.

"Brother! Look, tell me that is not what I think it is. My eyes must be deceiving me." One of the warriors pointed to a mass in the distance, at first none of them had noticed it, but now they saw that it was without a doubt the corpse of a Leviathan.

"If your eyes are lying to you then so are mine. There are still Zerg over there, far too many for us to deal with alone. We should-" He was cut off by a surge of psionic power, it felt like a scream and a roar at first, then it degenerated into incoherent static in their minds.

Ten miles from where the Protoss scouts were struggling to understand the noise that had invaded their thoughts, a massive blade tore its' way out of the Leviathan's head. The blade was followed by an arm, which preceded the body of a vaguely humanoid being. Before Alex could pull himself the rest of the way out of the body of his latest victim he lost stability, he had known it would happen, he was actually surprised he had maintained control as long as he had. He almost laughed as he slipped into the mindless blank state that came with the loss of his control.

The giant humanoid fell to the ground beside the Leviathan's corpse, it had ceased to appear human almost as soon as it began to fall. The remaining Zerg realized that this was the enemy they had been fighting and resumed their attack, all this did was annoy the temporarily berserk shape shifter. A mouth appeared on the side of the shifting mass of organic matter, a split second later it expelled a pillar of fire at the Zerg on the ground.

The fire stopped when the mouth shifted away, replaced by a massive clawed hand growing out the mass of flesh, the enormous limb crashed to the ground and swept away the charred bodies and crushed any survivors. The Zerg did not falter, they kept attacking the ever-shifting body from all directions. The clawed arm began pushing the mass into the air, with the help of two similar limbs, one ended in a giant hand that looked more like a hammer then anything else, the other appeared to be a set of long blades. All three limbs shifted into what looked like demented imitations of a bugs legs crossed with those of a lizard.

Another mouth morphed into being on what was, for the moment, the top of the mass. As soon as it opened it began launching volleys of organic missiles at the air units above the main mass. While that mouth was assaulting the air units, another formed on the side of the creature and vomited out nearly two-hundred egg-like cocoons, moments after hitting the ground the eggs split open and a horde of humanoid monsters began tearing into the Zerg ground forces. Only seconds after the eggs had hatched, the mouth closed and shifted, it was soon replaced by a crystal eye nearly twenty feet wide. Before the humanoid things had even managed to do any real damage to the Zerg the eye let loose a searing beam of thermal energy, everything the beam struck was reduced to ash.

Tendrils began to extend at random, slicing into the Zerg or raining death on the creatures that were not even a threat to Alex anymore. He wasn't actually attacking them, or anything really, he just couldn't control his form or powers; this meant that everything in the immediate area was likely to be obliterated by the unrestrained power of the Blacklight Virus. Another 'arm' joined the first three limbs and crushed an Ultralisk as it pushed the ever-shifting mass further off the ground, moments later Alex fell onto his side again when two of the limbs simply melted back into the blob of unstable biomass.

Prismatic Beams cut twenty foot wide trenches through the surrounding jungle, while acidic grenades reduced everything they struck to pools of liquid. A burst of fire brought down several Mutalisks and Overseers; they fell straight into the mouth that had sent out the flames that ended their lives, they were consumed instantly; further adding to the instability of the mass.

Alex continued shifting and randomly firing destructive objects or substances for almost thirty minutes before he began to think again. As soon as he was fully self aware he restored his body's stability and began shifting to a form that would allow him to function with all the biomass he now had, he certainly couldn't return to a human shape at the moment, no way was all that mass going to be compressed to that size. First he formed a complete body, it was based off the body of a scorpion, hardened armor covered most of the surface while a lighter shell protected the joints where the ten new limbs that were growing connected to the body. Eight heavily armored lizard-like legs lifted Alex off the ground as a pair of gigantic pincers formed near his "head", the claws were each made of a pair of enlarged Kaiser Blades.

Eight Impaler Tendrils, scaled to match his new size, grew along Alex's back, the tendrils stayed low and drifted backwards, keeping them out of the way unless they were needed. Twelve enormous crystalline eyes arranged themselves above the monstrous set of fanged mandibles that served as this forms mouth. The entire body was a combination of organic armor and flesh with bio-metallic armor.

A long flexible tail that ended in a Prismatic Beam array finished the main body and limbs. On the right and left sides of his back two double barreled Ion Shock Cannons morphed into position, like everything else they were the appropriate size to match his new form. Five pointed star formations of crystal eyes shifted into place on the largest armor plate on each leg, all forty eyes could aim and fire Ion Cannon bolts at anything in their considerable fields of vision. Veins of organic crystal could be seen running through his armor at various points, these emitted a menacing red glow and were used to project a constant, low power, spherical Psionic Shield around him, a full 360 degree barrier.

While they were well hidden and difficult to see, Alex placed sets of three crystal eyes on the bottom of this body as well, this way he could see if someone was trying to attack him from a perceived blind spot and return fire if necessary. There were other hidden sets of eyes on other parts of the new form as well, Alex could effectively see everything around him, it took a few minutes to get used to seeing from so many different angles at the same time, and splitting his focus to do so decreased the speed of his 'research' significantly.

All eight legs ended in three gigantic spikes, two placed side by side farthest from his body with the third opposite them, making a massive triangle. The spikes were driven into the ground whenever he took a step, on the off chance that he ran into something big enough to do so this would limit the chances of him being knocked over.

Alex decided to run a quick test; the result was disturbing and more then a little frightening. The massive bladed pincers shifted into a pair of enormous double barreled cannons, they only held that form for a few seconds before shifting into gigantic imitations of his normal Claws, the giant hands then degenerated into writhing masses of Impaler Tendrils. While his 'arms' were putting on a demented talent show, the rest of his body was shifting at various points as well, overall he kept the same shape, but at random locations limbs and tendrils were erupting from his form before either receding back into the body, or morphing into all manner of weapons, from Blades and Hammer Fists to scaled down, or up, Shock Cannons and Phase Disruptors.

Once he was satisfied that he had regained complete control of his biomass, Alex decided it was probably a good time to leave, he didn't feel like getting caught up in the full scale war that he knew was coming between the various factions in the sector, and he didn't want to risk drawing the attention of the presence he felt in the Void.

It was difficult getting and staying airborne in this form, it wasn't meant to fly after all. Once he had made it far enough off the ground to begin morphing without any interference from the ground itself, Alex began shifting again. Legs were replaced with fin-like wings, the pincers became sets of five gigantic tendrils, his tail shifted slightly and changed position to resemble that of a manta ray rather then a scorpion. His main eyes remained largely unchanged while the various small sets moved to new locations so that they could still serve the same purpose they had been made for on the previous Titan Form. Alex felt that was an accurate name for these two new shapes, and any other giant bodies he may create in the future, Titan just fit the new morphs perfectly.

The Ion Shock Cannons didn't change, but they were joined by another pair of the same weapons on the underside of this new form. Alex retracted the eight Impaler Tendrils on his back and morphed fifty, three foot wide, crystal eyes along both sides of his back, these were designed solely for the purpose of firing Homing Lasers, while no human had quite got the idea to work yet, Alex had already figured out the problems and was able to create a very effective weapon, with a small shift in the wavelength of the beams Alex could fire explosive or pure heat lasers.

The overall appearance of this form was less impressive then the previous shape, but it was meant for travel more then combat so that was to be expected. He now looked like a cross between an Overseer, a Broodlord, and a Phoenix, with a few elements of the Carrier and Void Ray added in as well. With that done Alex brought up a Formed Psionic Shield and shot into the sky at the appropriate escape velocity for the planet, the Zerg air units that tried to pursue him were met with a wave of explosive Homing Lasers.

As soon as he was sure it wouldn't cause any problems for the Protoss on the planet, Alex opened a Warp Rift aimed at the other side of the galaxy, he had enough spare power to make it cover the distance.

* * *

><p>It took a while, but after some effort and searching Alex had made it to another galaxy and found a planet that was perfect for his purpose. The planet was seven times the size of Earth, it had three moons, one of which was almost the same size as Earth, that was where he first landed, before anything else he was going to implement an emergency fallback plan, he needed to ditch some biomass anyway.<p>

Alex chose a location for his base, it was in a wide open area, plenty of room to expand and no potentially disastrous weaknesses in the terrain. In the center of this area he began using a combination of Prismatic and Thermal Beams to tunnel straight down into the planet sized moon. Once he had tunneled about seven miles down, Alex changed direction and tunneled another mile north, at least the direction that served as north on this particular moon. When he had traveled the full intended mile, he started hollowing out a large chamber at the end of the tunnel.

"Now I just hope this doesn't end with a giant crazy clone, that would suck." Alex smirked, forgetting that he was a giant demonic space manta ray at the moment, if anyone had seen the expression that resulted from this they would likely have gone mad and died from pure terror.

* * *

><p>Alex was watching his workers, a less combat oriented version of the original humanoid creatures he had created, building the base he had designed, it was meant for scientific research and to be a central control base for the various other installations he was going to build. He had created a few more creatures, most of them meant for construction and resource acquisition, there were hundreds of them moving around in perfect coordination, they didn't bump into each-other, they didn't trip, there were a few problems, but he had created creatures whose sole purpose was to deal with those.<p>

He was about to go down to Eden, the planet his base orbited he had decided to call it that because it was his plan to make it a perfect world, he wanted to check on the progress of the single celled organisms he had created to begin life on what had previously been little more then a giant barren rock. Before he could begin shifting he realized that something was different, he wasn't alone on the cliff and he knew that his guest wasn't one of his creatures. He spun around and tried to shift to Hardened Armor and Full Body Musclemass, but nothing happened, he only had a moment to worry about the apparent loss of his powers before he saw the man standing only seven feet away from him.

The being that had somehow managed to not only avoid being detected by the Observation Drones, but by Alex himself as well, looked human, but it was obviously anything but that. The man was exactly five feet tall, his hair was all perfectly black and not a single strand of it was out of place, his eyes were solid blue not a shade of difference anywhere, and no iris or pupils either, that was the only inhuman thing about him. He was wearing a light blue business suit, like his eyes it was all the exact same color, no deviation anywhere. The man was perfectly symmetrical, there was nothing out of place, nothing wrong with him, he was perfect, that was what set off all of Alex's mental warning bells at the same time, he knew that nothing was perfect, so there was definitely something wrong here.

"Would I be correct guessing that you stopped me from shifting?"

"Yes. I saw no reason to let you waste both our time and energy trying to fight me when you have no chance of winning and it would only cause you more problems then you need." The mans voice was just like everything else about him, perfect, and it was extremely unsettling listening to it.

"Okay, I'm just going to take your word for it that I'm not a threat to you. So who are you? While we're on the subject what are you?" Alex was not going to try to argue with someone who had already proven that if they didn't want him to use his powers, he simply wouldn't be able to use them.

"I am The First. That is the appropriate answer to both your questions. I am here because you have more potential to effect changes, of all types both great and small, then most other beings in existence. I want you to do just that, change things." The First already knew how this would go, it knew everything, but it had to ask, it had made the rules and it would follow them the same as every other being did.

"Do I have a choice in this?"

"Of course. You always have a choice. That is one of the 'Rules'; choice is universal and absolute. Fate does not decide the course of the story, it merely records the events as they occur based on the choices made by those within the story. Destiny is not the way a persons life will go, nor is it their ultimate end, it is simply the voice that gives them advice down one path or another. I am here because you have already decided to accept the offer I am going make, you just have to voice your decision yourself."

"Alright, as odd as it is, that made perfect sense." Alex was willing to bet that a good portion of humanity would just ignore what had been said and just say The First was crazy, people don't like having their preconceptions and society influenced beliefs compromised, but it really did make more sense then the general view of the subject. At this point he had come to a conclusion that he was betting was right and wrong at the same time. "You're god aren't you?"

"In the sense that you mean, yes. In the way you're referencing it, no." The First smirked slightly, an exact imitation of the expression Alex had worn more then once since he had arrived in the Koprulu Sector and had continued using it since leaving as well. The expression brought another thought to Alex's mind.

"Do you know how I ended up in the Koprulu Sector?" It was more an accusation then a question.

"Yes." That was all the response The First gave verbally, but the full blown smile that appeared on his face was more then enough to say that it had been his own conscious actions that led to the current situation.

Alex just smirked back. "So, what exactly have I already decided to say yes to?"

The First continued to smile as he answered, that is to say his mouth didn't move but his voice was clear and easily understandable. "My offer is this; I will improve both your Warp Rift and Blink powers, you will be able to travel wherever you want within this universe, nothing will be able to keep you from going where you want, you will be able to safely open rifts anywhere, be it in space or on, and even beneath, the surface of planets. You will be able to transport yourself anywhere; besides allowing you free travel anywhere in this universe, I will allow you to move at will from one facet of reality to another, any universe you wish to go to, and any time in those other worlds, you will not be able to travel to your own past, but other then that you can go wherever and whenever you wish, all I ask is that you make changes now and then in the worlds you visit. It does not matter what sort of change, you can guide a world to a time of peace and joy, or plunge it into endless war. In the worlds where 'Good' and 'Evil' truly compete with one another you can choose to aid either one or interfere in their plans and see to it that both lose, it does not matter to me which as long as changes are made."

Alex was aware of the theory of other universes existing besides the one in which he currently lived and he believed it to be correct, in some ways at least. He had spent five years back on Earth thinking about that very thing, he had been thinking that maybe he should try leaving his world, in the end he decided that it would be more trouble then it was worth to try, but he had come to the conclusion that it was only logical that there were other realities besides this one.

The First continued. "I will instruct the higher forces of reality to not interfere with you, there will still be lesser beings that will seek to hinder you, but those that are more powerful then their position should allow will not be able to harm you, those you could overcome on your own will still be able to act against you, but I know you will be fine. The laws of physics as humans know them are not adequate for this endeavor. I will allow you to know the 'Truth' of the worlds you visit, that way you will not be hindered by a false belief that one thing or another is impossible, you will be able to do anything you can do in this world in any other, any knowledge or powers you acquire in your travels will work the same no matter where you go. You will be able to feel and speak to your creations no matter how many worlds away you are, your travels will not hinder your scientific endeavors in the slightest, in fact I am certain you will agree that you will benefit from this a great deal." The smile, though it seemed impossible, appeared to grow. "What is your choice Alex Mercer?"

"Well you already said I had decided to accept, and I wouldn't want to make you a liar. So how does this work?" Alex smirked, he didn't know what to expect, but he did his best to be ready for anything.

The First continued to smile as he raised his right hand. "I'll be around to talk again after you've dealt with Doomsday." He snapped his fingers, the sound was like an echoing crash of thunder. For a moment the world seemed out of focus, when everything straightened out The First was gone and Alex felt lighter, like he had been weighed down by something since he had first opened his eyes but hadn't known it. Then he saw the world, truly saw it, for the first time. It was amazing, he could see why humans weren't able to see the 'Truth', their heads would implode, or explode, maybe both.

Alex laughed out loud and quickly gave a new set of orders to his creatures before vanishing, it was time to see what the rest of reality was like.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. Yes, this was the plan from the start, Alex is just too powerful or potentially powerful to write a story that focuses around him without the risk of it ending up curb-stomp material, and since a lot of people don't seem to like curb-stomps I thought up a way to put Alex in stories, make him important, but not just make it a "Alex shows up and kills everyone, the end" story. The other, and more important, reason for this story is that it could give people a way to make changes to stories without having to merge universes, which from what I can tell is difficult, or hand-wave a few important facts away. I have a few things using this version of Alex typed out already and will post them after this, they are just ideas not full stories or even one-shots, if you haven't been paying attention then I'll say it again; I couldn't write a real story to save my life.<strong>

**I can think of other ways to write stories about Alex that aren't stomps one way or another, but they all involve nerfing the living hell out of Alex, and while those ideas could be done well by other people I thought I should get this out of the way first since it gives the most potential for other people on this site to alter stories, if you can't think of a way to use this version of Alex to change other stories just read the next few things I post, there will be ideas in those on how Alex changing things could work.**

**Yes, it is somewhat significant that The First said "**"I'll be around to talk again after you've dealt with Doomsday."**" I may or may not actually type out what this means, just have to wait and see.**

**I will occasionally post little bits of what Alex does back on Eden, and other planets, when I post other ideas for things he could do and places he could go, and I would appreciate it if no one would try to ignore The First and start blowing up Alex's stuff. If anyone chooses to use this version of Alex please remember that he has access to all worlds, if you want him to have been to a world just mention it, it doesn't matter if I know about the world or not, if it exists he can go there. If you want Alex to give someone powers or technology he can, it doesn't matter what it is or where it's from, because it will be introduced to the new universe by Alex from his perception it will function the same way it does in its' home dimension. Alex can now see the 'Truth' of any world he goes to, this means that limits that our perception of things cause us to see have no meaning to him; so it doesn't matter if one worlds perceived laws of physics say that something from another world is impossible, Alex can see things the way they are instead of the way we lesser beings see them.**

(Quick note: The First is not supposed to be me, or any other 'real world' person. The First is the product of me thinking about the way things work in both the real and fictional worlds, or me thinking about it and coming to the conclusions I have is a product of The First being real and we are just figments of fiction. Regardless of what is and isn't real, The First is not me displaying some sort of god complex in a fictional setting, I would never trust myself with a level of power above what I have in the 'real world', which is pretty much none at all.)

Hob the Indestructible Robot


	5. What Now?

I own sarcasm

This is not a chapter. This has two purposes, the first is to give a quick summary of what Alex can do as of the end of the third chapter, and the second is to ask a few questions. The questions are at the end.

First is Alex's original powers, I will list the ones he gained over the course of the story and the upgrades to the original set after that.

Alex Mercer: Blacklight

Original Powers:

Basic

Strength: Alex is physically stronger then any natural human could ever hope to be, what the exact limit of this strength is is unknown, but he has shown that he can lift an M1 Abrams tank that has a weight of close to 68 tons and then sprint down the street or even straight up the side of a building with no apparent drop in his movement speed. (Information on weight obtained from Wikipedia)

Durability: Alex at his weakest is shown to be resilient enough to survive multiple near direct hits from anti-tank missiles. At most times ordinary bullets simply seem to bounce off of him, tank rounds and other explosives are more effective then small arms fire but because of his speed and maneuverability these have less of a chance of hitting him. Alex has fallen from extreme heights without sustaining any injury from the fall, exactly how far this goes is unknown, the highest he has been seen to fall from is a little more then 1,454 ft without being harmed by the impact upon landing.

Healing: Alex has an impressive regenerative ability, while it is by no means the most effective in fiction it is still potent enough to warrant mention. Alex regenerates from damage at an accelerated rate, what would be fatal or crippling damage for a human is a minor annoyance to him. Barring the one time he regenerated from a puddle of goo after being within the fireball of nuclear explosion, though he did need to consume a crow to jump-start the regeneration, his most impressive feet of rapid healing is the time he regrew his own head after allowing it to be blown off by a single round from a pistol, it only took him a few seconds to do this and he was talking almost the whole time.

Speed: Alex is able to move at speeds that a human, with the exceptions of mutants and meta-humans or other such enhanced beings, can not hope to match. It is never said exactly how fast Alex is, but he is shown capable of outpacing all land vehicles with ease and even outruns airborne vehicles on more then one occasion. It is likely Alex is able to run at up to 200 miles per hour, perhaps faster. Alex's reaction time and speed seems to be enhanced to the same level as his travel speed, meaning that Alex should easily be able to avoid most ranged attacks and most melee assaults as well. Just like all his other physical abilities Alex's agility is far beyond that of an ordinary human, he is able to change direction while moving at top speed without slowing down, even going so far as to pull a full 360 degree turn without losing any momentum, on top of this he can also move almost freely through the air, turning and dashing through open space with little to no trouble.

Jumping: Due to the combination of Alex's speed and strength he is able to jump great heights and distances, this is further augmented by his ability to alter his own biomass which allows him to glide and even "jump" again while still in the air.

Shifting

Shape shift: Alex is capable of physically transforming into any being whose genetic structure he has acquired, logic dictates that he does not have to kill someone to acquire their DNA.

Consume: Alex can break other beings down into pure biomass and absorb them into himself, doing so usually gives him access to everything that person or being knew as well as giving him their genetics which allows him to transform into them.

Claws: After the first time he killed and consumed a Redlight Hunter Alex gained an improved version of the Hunters' claws, he can shift his arms into this form at will. The claws are fast but not very powerful, they are best used against unarmored enemies. With this weapon form came the Groundspike ability; Alex slams his hand into the ground and extends biomass outward, when the mass reaches the target area it erupts from the ground in a mass of hard organic spikes, impaling anything in the area.

Musclemass: Alex enhances his strength, this means that he hits a lot harder. There isn't much to say, this one is a bit obvious.

Hammer Fist: This morphs Alex's hands into large organic wrecking balls, that is the best explanation I can think of.

Whip Fist: Replaces one, or possibly both, of Alex's arms with a extendable whip-like limb with a set of sharp blades on the end, this can be used as a ranged weapon. This weapon form also allows Alex to latch on to distant targets and pull them to him, or the other way around in some cases.

Blade: Replaces Alex's arm with a massive blade, this is not the fastest weapon Alex has but it does allow him to one-shot tanks so it is pretty powerful.

Armor Form: Alex abandons any pretense of being human and covers himself in a shell of extremely durable organic armor. This form greatly increases Alex's defensive strength but reduces his speed by a similar factor.

Shield: Alex manifests an organic shield to protect himself from incoming attacks. The shield is fairly durable but can be destroyed by a certain amount of damage.

Sensory Powers:

Vision

Standard: Alex seems to have enhanced sight, frequently spotting specific individual humans from a great height and equal distance, how far this goes is never explored.

Thermal: Alex gained the ability to track the thermal signatures of living things, though this would work on anything that generates heat. This ability allows him to see through smoke, walls, and armor, if it generates heat and is not capable of hiding it then Alex can find it.

Infected: Alex is able to see the infection in living things, this allows him to track humans who have not manifested the obvious symptoms of the virus. Super Soldiers are technically infected, but with a controlled and weakened variation of the Blacklight Virus, so they show up on the Infected Vision spectrum as well.

Hearing

Standard: It is unclear whether or not Alex's hearing is superior to that of humans, but it would be logical to assume that it was enhanced from the abilities of the original Alexander Mercer along with all his other traits. A couple of times during the events in Manhattan Alex seemed to hear things well before any humans in the area did, as well as hearing things that the humans didn't hear at all like cats, dogs and other animals do, this suggests that Alex can hear frequencies that humans can't.

Scent

Standard: Like with hearing it was never said whether or not Alex's sense of smell was enhanced, but again it would logically have been improved to keep pace with the rest of his abilities.

Abilities not dependent on powers:

Alex has the basic knowledge of Alexander Mercer, he lost almost all of Alexander's personal memories when he was "born", but still has all of his knowledge of genetics, science, math, history, and all other subjects.

Alex has, through use of his ability to consume people, learned to operate all manner of military vehicles and how to use all standard issue weapons that were brought to Manhattan. While this information was all acquired through use of one of his base powers, he does not need those powers to use the knowledge once it has been gained.

Devastators:

Groundspike Graveyard: An improved version of the Groundspike, this attack takes a moment to prepare and launch, it functions in the same manner as the lesser version, but rather then aiming for a specific spot, the Groundspike Graveyard causes much larger spikes to erupt from the ground all around Alex withing roughly thirty or so feet of the point the attack was used at. This attack can be used in the air, but the only difference is that Alex is safe from melee attacks while launching it, when the attack is ready Alex slams back down to the ground and initiates the attack as normal.

Tendril Barrage: Alex extends an uncountable number of biomass tendrils from himself, these tendrils pierce and cut through lesser organic targets while latching onto inorganic targets and organic targets they couldn't pierce and then drag everything in range back towards Alex, smashing all of it together above him before blowing it apart again. This attack has a range of roughly thirty feet and is omnidirectional. Tendril Barrage can be used in the air, this is a good way to clear the air of helicopters and UAVs.

Critical Pain: Basically Tendril Barrage but focused forward instead of out around Alex, this attack fires a mass of writhing biomass tendrils straight out in front of Alex, these tendrils extend about forty feet and deal a massive amount of damage to anything they hit. Critical Pain can easily destroy a tank or any other military vehicle in a matter of seconds, the number of targets that have survived this attack can be counted on one hand. The area affected by the attack is forty feet long and about five feet wide.

Possible Powers:

Logically Alex should be capable of anything Heller can do in the second game.

Evolution Personified

After arriving in the Koprulu sector through a Warp Rift created by The First, Alex first encountered a group of zerglings patrolling a stretch of road on an unnamed planet. After his first encounter with the Zerg, Alex decided he wanted to see how far evolution could go, and since as the title of the story suggests Alex is evolution personified, the obvious thing to do was consume even more Zerg units.

During his time in the sector Alex consumed at least one of every type of Zerg unit, from them he was able to gain new powers and upgrade his original set.

Original Powers: Upgraded

Basic

Strength: Using the various enhancements that the Zerg have programed into their genetics, Alex further improved his base strength, he is now at least four times as strong as he was on Earth. This changes depending on how big he is at any given time, the larger the form the greater the strength increase.

Durability: Zerg units are all armored to a degree, this armor is strong enough that it renders them all but invulnerable against ordinary weapons, using that to his advantage Alex has increased his own durability proportional to what it was compared to humans. Alex is now as durable compared to his original state during the Manhattan incident, as his state then was to humans.

Healing: Zerg, at rest, can heal at almost the same rate that Alex himself was able to on Earth, the difference being that, unlike Alex and almost every other being in the universe, the Zerg have no limit on cell generation, they do not age because they can repair cellular damage infinitely. Alex is a virus and therefore can only generate new cells by consuming organic matter from other sources and converting it to infected biomass, using the genetics of the Zerg Alex was able to fix this, he can now generate a limitless amount of biomass without the need to consume other beings. On top of the fact that he no longer needs to consume in order to heal, Alex has also managed to accelerate the speed of his base healing ability, what it once took him a full minute to regenerate from he can now heal in only a few seconds.

Speed: Alex could originally move fast enough over land to outpace anything short of a top form racecar at full speed. By improving and applying the Zerg speed enhancements to himself he has increased his running speed by three times what it once was. (Example: If Alex's top speed before was 200 miles per hour it would now be 600 miles per hour.) Alex's agility and reaction times have increased along with his speed, everything in direct proportion to the base speed increase.

Jumping: Alex can now jump well more then four times the height and distance that he could before, this is the result of the fact that on top of being stronger and faster then he once was, he is now able to make himself lighter as well. His glide ability has also been improved and is now just short of actual flight, this was all rendered pointless moments after the upgrade when he actually gained the ability to fly under his own power.

Shifting

Claws: Using the Zerg genetics that gave them their metal and flesh rending claws and spines, Alex has improved his own claws, they are now sharper and faster then ever before. By comparison, his claws are now on the same level of power that his blade had on Earth.

Musclemass: While no direct upgrades were applied to this power, the fact that it increases Alex's strength to twice what it normally is means that it is now enhancing his strength from a base level that is greater then the level of strength it once gave him when active. Alex has made an improvement to the power that is not related to Zerg genetics, he can now activate Full Body Musclemass form, this form enhances his base strength five times over rather then the double strength increase given by just using the power on his arms. Full Body Musclemass enhances all of Alex's base physical abilities by the same factor it increases his strength, meaning that it also increases his already enhanced speed by five times its' current level. (Example: Alex can run at 600 miles per hour, he activates Full Body Musclemass, now he can run 3000 miles per hour.)

Hammer Fist: Can harden hammers into bio-metallic form, this increases their damage and allows them to be used as shields against most attacks.

Whip Fist: Range has tripled, can now leave hands in place at the end of whips allowing much more versatile use of this form. Both arms confirmed to take this form simultaneously. Any weapon form can take place of hands at the end of the whips. (Side Note: Wrecking ball style attack now possible with Whip Fist Hammer Fist combo.)

Blade: Like the Claw weapon form the Blade is now sharper and faster, its' power has been multiplied by five times what it once was. Confirmed to be dual wielded on both arms. A slightly smaller and lighter form of this weapon can now be used to allow for more refined and precise combat. (Side Note: All bladed weapon forms can now be used to launch Psionic Blade projectiles, the size and power of the Psionic Blade depends on which weapon form was used to launch the attack.)

Armor Form: Proportional increase to durability bonus. Now lighter, more aerodynamic shape, no longer hinders movement or reduces speed. Further upgrades resulted in the creation of Hardened Armor Form, this form causes an increase in physical size, further increases durability and allows use of larger weapon forms, the downside to this armor is that it reduces speed even further then the original armor form did, though recently this can be bypassed through use of Full Body Musclemass, doing so leaves Alex at his new base speed while allowing him more effective use of heavy weapon forms.

Shield: Like base form and Armor the Shield form has had a significant increase to its' durability. To deal with Banelings at one point Alex modified the Shield, creating the Hardened Shield, this shield is composed of bio-metallic matter and is a circle rather then the simple slab of hardened biomass that makes up the normal shield, the outer edge of the Hardened Shield is a razor sharp blade which allows the shield to be used as a weapon, the Hardened Shield is more then three times as durable as the standard Shield. Confirmed to be usable with both arms.

Sensory Powers: Upgraded

Sight

Standard: No confirmed change.

Thermal: No confirmed change.

Infected: No confirmed change.

Bio: New power. As long as he knows the genetic signature of the creature there is no way for an organic being to hide from Alex while he is using this vision power.

Hearing

Standard: No confirmed change.

Scent

Standard: No confirmed change.

Abilities not dependent on powers:

Alex has added a greater number of vehicles and weapons to the list of things he can use, but other then that there is no change.

Possible Powers:

Alex should still be capable of anything Heller can do, and would therefore have upgraded those powers as well.

New Powers:

Shifting

Barb Launcher: Adds armored plates to the backs of Alex's arms that can be raised to reveal the hidden spines that this weapon form is able to fire at high speed, this is a mid-ranged weapon. Based off the spines fired by Hydralisks and a modified version of the system used by that same unit to fire the spines.

Wings: Alex is now capable of growing fully functional wings, these would easily lift a human, but Alex must use the anti-gravity ability he gained from consuming Overlords in order to achieve true flight. Alex's current flight speed depends on his form, though his best speed in his fastest form would allow him to go from the surface of Earth to the moon in less then twenty-four hours.

Impaler Tendrils: Alex can generate and maintain long flexible tendrils that he can manipulate in a similar manner to the arms of an octopus. The Impaler Tendrils end, by default, in bone-like spikes but can be shifted to variations of any of Alex's weapon forms and can even end in armor form hands.

Grenade Launcher: This weapon is exactly what the name suggests, it was originally created to fire Acidic Grenades based off of the Baneling's self-destruct ability but has been given a second form that allows it to fire Spike Grenades. While Alex has not done so yet this weapon could easily fire simple explosive grenades if he chose to use it for that purpose.

Acid Thrower: Based off of an ordinary flame thrower, this weapon fires a stream of acid made from the same chemicals and enzymes that Roaches use for their own attack. Though it is based off the Roaches attack and a flame thrower, this weapon has greater effective range then either.

Fire Breath: Not actually named but it is what it is. Alex created this system as a joke more then anything, but it is a very dangerous power none the less. Alex can now expel a concentrated stream of fire from his mouth, though if he wanted to he could modify his hands to use the power as well, he just thinks it looks more intimidating coming from his mouth. This power has been given a weapon form and was used in conjunction with the Impaler Tendrils, the combination was enough to take down an Ultralisk in less then a minute, even taking into account the use of a third power at the time this is still an impressive achievement. The fire breath has a range of roughly forty feet, after that it starts to scatter and becomes less effective.

Scythe Pistols: Simply named after the weapons it was based on. If you know what Scythe Pistols are and who uses them then you should be able to guess what this weapon does. The first weapon Alex made that used bio-metallic projectiles, these guns are meant to be used at fairly close range. This weapon has been used to shoot a Hydralisk in half, literally.

Pile Bunker: No idea why it's called that. A melee weapon that can best be described as the mutant freak child of a piston and a drill, this weapon is designed to punch through armor, using it on soft squishy targets could make a very big mess. Was used to lobotomize an Ultralisk.

Shock Cannon: Based of the Shock Cannon used by Siege Tanks, this weapon can currently only be used while Alex is in Hardened Armor form or something larger. This weapon form fires long range explosive organic projectiles that, proportionally, do the same amount of damage as the original weapon from the tanks. Alex has demonstrated that this can be an effective anti-air weapon if used correctly. This weapon is actually two different weapons in one, like the Siege Tank Alex is able to transform the weapon between two forms, Shock Cannon and Twin Cannons, when using the Twin Cannon after he first created it Alex will use the weapon form with both arms rather then place the dual barrels on one arm, it works better that way.

Strike Cannons: Adapted from the siege weapons of the Thor. Like the Shock Cannon Alex must be in at least Hardened Armor to use this weapon form. Can be used to accurately rain explosive rounds onto a target from a great distance, Alex is able to calculate most possible factors in order to insure that the target does not escape complete destruction.

Ion Blasters: After learning as much as he could about Protoss technology Alex used the new information to create energy weapon forms, the Ion Blasters were the first. This weapon fires concentrated beams of energy, the projectiles are fast moving and have an impressive range, the ion bolts are not ideal for use against heavily armored targets but they are still not a threat to be ignored. Alex is able to mimic the Overload trick used by some Phoenix pilots in order to launch a massive volley of explosive ion bolts at all targets in range. Only used with both arms thus far.

Prismatic Beam Array: A complex series of organic mirrors and prisms allows Alex to channel energy through the weapon and fire a scaled down version of the Void Ray's Prismatic Beam weapon. Confirmed to be used with both arms.

Thermal Beams: Alex has not created a weapon form for this power, instead he morphs a crystal structure inside his own head and alters the structure of his eyes to match the internal crystals, he then links the two and projects superheated energy through his eyes in order to mimic the Thermal Lances of the Protoss Colossus. By increasing the power output of the beams Alex is able to cause a series of explosions by sweeping the beams over the desired target, or he can focus the beams and just detonate the target area repeatedly.

Burrow Beast: A form meant specifically for tunneling underground and attacking enemies from below. This form is in essence a smaller more combat oriented version of the Nydus Worm.

Flight Form: Not yet named. Alex shifts into a roughly Phoenix sized aircraft-like form, in this form he is able to fly far faster then with just his wings alone. While in this form Alex arranges the six eyes he has added to his Armor Form in a five pointed star around the sixth eye which becomes significantly larger then the other five, the large eye is used for sight and targeting while the smaller eyes act as Ion Cannons. Alex has used organic seeker missiles and scaled down Scourge units while in this form. Alex was in this form when he first used the Formed Psionic Shield ability.

Spider Tank Form: Not yet named. Best described as it was in a note during the last chapter **"**_**Alex basically looks like a giant organic Tachikoma from the seventh level of hell at the moment"**_, if you don't know what a Tachikoma is just look up Ghost in the Shell. In this form Alex has used the following weapons: Shock Cannons, two of them are placed on the back of the form. Ion Cannons, as in Flight Form these are fired from his eyes. Phase Disruptor, again fired from his eyes. Organic Missile Launchers, placed on parodies of the zerglings' second set of 'arms' on the forms back. Alex also created a weapon that, so far, is exclusive to this form, it is a combination of the Scythe Pistols and the Organic Sentry Gun used by the first form of the first creature he created, this weapon fires high-density armor piercing bio-metallic bullets.

Titan Forms

After consuming a good portion of a Zerg Leviathan Alex temporarily lost control of himself, this caused him to rapidly shift at random, when he calmed down he used the new excess biomass to create two new forms.

Ground Based: This form has not been given its' own name yet. In this form Alex looks like a Godzilla style cross between a scorpion and a lizard of some kind. This form has a pair of double barreled Ion Shock Cannons on its' back, the weapons were made on a whim, they are a combination of the Phoenix Ion Cannons and the Siege Tank Shock Cannon, the weapons are proportionally at least three times as powerful as ordinary Shock Cannons. This form has sets of crystal eyes placed at various locations all over it, most of these eyes are hidden, they are used to prevent sneak attacks from any direction and can be used to fire Ion Cannon bolts, Thermal Beams, or Prismatic Beams at any enemy who tries to strike at a perceived blind spot. The scorpion tail of this form ends in a Prismatic Beam Array, considering the scale of the weapon it is not something you would want aimed in your direction. As with all his other forms Alex is still able shift and use all of his weapons and powers, however he must make modifications to them in order for them to function properly, most of them just become the equivalent of automated defense turrets. This is only the second form Alex has created that has a mouth, the first being Burrow Beast, this forms' mouth is large enough that Alex could actually eat several Overlords and Overseers at once, considering the fact that Overlords are large enough to carry two Ultralisks at the same time and Ultralisks are almost twice the size of Siege Tanks, this should give a general idea of exactly how large this form is. In this form Alex can breath fire from his mouth, considering the size of that mouth this is a rather frightening prospect in my opinion, even worse is the fact that the mouth was designed with the intention of Alex being able to use it as a "safe" means of firing the Compressed Psionic Beam, scaled to match this form that particular power would be horrifying to see.

Space Flight Form: This form is also still unnamed. Basically a Broodlord scaled up to massive proportions. This form is the third to have a mouth, this is for the same purpose as the mouth on the ground based Titan Form. This form is meant for travel through space but it can function perfectly fine within the atmosphere of planets. This form is armed with the same number of crystal eyes placed on its' body that the ground form has, they are just placed differently. Alex added a second pair of double barreled Ion Shock Cannons to this form, they are placed on the underside of the body directly opposite the original set. Like Alex's smaller flight form this form has 'hangers' that can generate and store Scourge, obviously this form can generate far more of the living bombs at one time. Besides the Scourge Alex can also create his various Drone type units and Interceptors in large numbers while in this form, these units can then be sent out into combat the same way the Protoss Carrier dispatches Interceptors. Alex used this form as the first test of his completed research on Homing Lasers, there are fifty crystals along this forms back on each side, totaling one-hundred, that are used exclusively for generating and firing the destructive beams of energy.

Psionic Powers

Through consuming various Zerg, Terran Ghosts and even a few Protoss, Alex has gained an incredible amount of Psionic Power, he has learned to use it all to the same degree that a fully trained High Templar can, and since the Zerg and Dark Templar use the same form of power Alex has learned to use that as well.

Alex is basically capable of any feet of psychic power you can think of, though to varying degrees.

Telepathy: Alex can read peoples minds, rearrange or erase their memories and even implant false memories in their minds. This has a potentially combat specific use as well, Alex can simply enter a beings mind and rip their consciousness apart, leaving them little more then a vegetable.

Telekinesis: Alex can move things through force of will. If you don't know what this power is then I question your knowledge of fiction.

Solid Energy Projection: Alex can create temporary solid duplicates of himself or any being or object he wants, these duplicates are composed of psionic energy and are not always as durable as the thing they resemble. If Alex wants them to, any duplicate can fire bolts of Psionic Lightening at whatever Alex tells them to, doing this depletes the energy that the duplicates are made of which shortens their already temporary existence. Duplicates can also simply detonate, the resulting explosions size and power is dependent on how much energy the duplicate had at the time of the explosion.

Energy to Matter Conversion: After studying the Phase Prisms matter to energy conversion storage system and the reverse of the process, Alex found a way to create matter from his own psionic energy, this allows him to make any substance he wants as long as he knows the molecular structure of the substance in question. Eventually Alex could possibly gain a refined enough control over this power that he could even create fully functioning complex machines from nothing but the energy he possesses at the time. (To give an idea of how frightening this concept is: Alex would eventually be able to will entire warships into existence.)

Energy Projection: Alex can use his psionic energy for direct attacks, so far he has only used this for bolts of psionic lightening and overcharged bolts of raw force that explode on impact. The Devastator that mimics the Yamato Gun is a variation of this power, as are any other Psionic Devastators.

Teleportation: Alex learned to use the Blink ability during his stay at a Protoss base. Alex was originally only able to transport himself a full mile with the ability but he needed to concentrate to stretch the jump that far, without time to focus Alex could only jump thirty feet at a time. Warp Rifts are also included here because they are basically just long distance teleportation, Alex was not able to open Warp Rifts on the surface of planets and had trouble aiming them before he met The First. The First enhanced Alex's Blink and Warp Rift abilities, he is now able to jump any distance and can open Rifts of any size wherever he wants without fear of damaging or destroying anything by accident. Alex can also jump between worlds and through time, the only place and time he can't go is his own past.

There are other powers that Alex could use his psionic energy for that he has not attempted yet, but if it could be done with psychic powers then Alex has the potential to use it.

Not sure how to refer to this one. Alex is now able to create living beings from his own biomass, this was first shown with a less advanced form of the ability referred to as Biomass Puppet. The things Alex has created so far are listed below.

Walker Types:

Assault: A living and semi-autonomous drone created by combining various Zerg genetic codes with the base template for the Spine and Spore Crawlers, as well as artificial gene sequences Alex created himself. This creature walks on four legs and is has light armor, though this is light by the standards of the Zerg so it is actually very durable. The Assault form Walker is armed with a pair of Organic Sentry Turret guns that originally fired the same sort of spines used by Hydralisks, after Alex discovered that high-density bio-metallic rounds are more effective and overall superior to the spines this was changed. The secondary weapon of the Assault form is a pair of Acidic Grenade Launchers mounted on its' back, these can be angled to fire effectively in almost any situation or environment.

Demolition: The same basic form as the Assault form, the Demolition form only differs in its' weapon set. In place of the Sentry guns used by the Assault form the Demolition form has sets of three organic Rocket Launchers, three on either side of its' body, these can be fired all at once or in rapid succession and can be used, although with some difficulty, on air targets as well as on ground units. The Demolition forms' secondary weapons are missile launchers in place of the grenade launchers used by the Assault form, these weapons have four barrels and fire seeker missiles that can easily bring down most smaller air units and are a potentially serious threat to larger targets as well.

Drone Types:

Disruptor Drone: Not exactly a creature but not really a machine either, the Disruptor Drone resembles a floating eye in form, it is made of a mass of organic armor with a living crystal in its' core. The Disruptor Drone is named because it was created to mimic the Phase Disruptor weapon that the multiple Protoss units are equipped with, the drone fires a single disruptor bolt from the smooth crystal shell that acts as the units 'eye' and weapon, the drone has a fairly slow fire rate but the power of the weapon makes up for this and the fact that the drones can be deployed in large numbers makes up for the lack of speed of a single unit.

Shield Drone: Similar to the Disruptor Drone in shape but with mirror like extensions on its' sides, top and bottom. (Picture a Tie Fighters' 'wings' and you have an idea what these 'mirrors' look like.) This drone is incapable of attacking, it was made for the sole purpose of projecting a high powered spherical Psionic Shield around itself and whatever it is ordered to protect. This drone can invert the shield and modify the energy frequency to prevent things from leaving the barrier rather then stopping things from entering, it can also project the barrier away from itself to provide a temporary prison without the risk of the captives simply destroying the drone.

Observation Drone: A flying camera basically. The Observation Drone was created to act as part of the extensive security system of Alex's base on the largest moon of the planet he named Eden, the drone is able to cloak itself and can see in several different light spectrum's besides being able to see things as humans see them. The drone had Thermal Vision, Infected Vision and Bio Vision at the time it was created, as Alex acquires new vision based powers he adds them to the Observation Drones. Observation Drones are able to emit small blasts of Psionic Lightening from their four smaller 'eyes' that are positioned in a square formation around the central Recording Eye, these bolts are non-lethal to most creatures, although there are conditions that may cause the bolts to be fatal to humans.

Prismatic Drone: Looks more like a work of art then a semi-autonomous weapon, it is basically a scaled down somewhat spherical version of the Void Ray. This drone has a low power Psionic Shield and uses a scaled down version of the Prismatic Beam of the Void Ray. To compensate for the drones small size compared to the Protoss warship, Alex added a fourth beam to the array the drone uses, proportionally the Prismatic Drone is more powerful then the Void Ray as a result. This Drone was not mentioned in the story.

Humanoids:

Worker: A less combat oriented variation of the original humanoid creature Alex created. This unit lacks the Barb Launchers of the original and its' blades are smaller. This unit was made for more delicate jobs, working with computers and such, but is still strong enough to take part in construction and mining operations.

Soldier: The first humanoid creature Alex made. This unit is built physically and mentally for battle but can act as security as well. Can use any weapon and pilot any vehicle that Alex himself is able to use, as Alex learns to operate new machines he adds that information to the Soldiers while still maintaining their semi-hive mind rudimentary brains.

Brute: To create this creature Alex basically just took the original Armor Form and combined it with the Full Body Musclemass power, the resulting creature being the living, breathing personification of the combined powers. The Brute fits its' name, it's bigger then Redlight Hunters and far stronger, it can easily lift 80 tons and throw the same weight the length of a football field. The Brute is extremely fast despite its' size; it can run at a maximum of two-hundred miles per hour, a little more or less then that depending on environmental and situational factors. Because it is made with the Armor Form as a part of its' very being the Brute is very durable, in tests it survived multiple direct hits from Shock Cannon rounds, the number varied from test to test but on average the unit was still standing after the fifth impact. The Brute possesses retractable bio-metallic claws in place of fingernails, these claws are eight and a half inches long when fully extended and can cut through neosteel with little difficulty. This creature was not mentioned in the story.

Scout: A winged humanoid creature. This creature was created to act as a scout just as it's name says, to help it fit this role Alex gave it far greater speed over land then the standard soldiers or the workers, on top of that ground speed is the fact that this humanoid can fly. The Scout was also given a cloaking ability, and in place of the Barb Launchers and claws that the other humanoids have the Scout was given a long range sniper ability, its' right arm has an extended armor shell with an organic crystal network inside of it that allows the Scout to fire long range armor piercing lasers, this weapon has a fairly fast fire rate and never runs out of energy; however, if the Scout uses the weapon to much in a short span of time it will overheat and could need to be removed, the Scout will then have to grow a new limb which can take quite a while without anything to eat to speed up the process. This creature was not mentioned in the story.

Replicated Units

Alex has recreated almost every Zerg unit with his own modifications to the original design; none of these were mentioned in the story with the exception of the Scourge. The Zerg units that have not been replicated are listed below:

Leviathan: This creature has not been replicated simply because there is no need for it, but Alex has given some thought to improving the original so it may be replicated at a later time.

Changeling: To similar to himself in concept so Alex decided to leave that particular unit alone.

Corruptor: Instead of improving and recreating this unit Alex just mixed it in when he recreated the Broodlord.

Nydus Worm: Not replicated because there are quicker means of transporting units then feeding them to giant worms.

Baneling: Despite the effectiveness of the unit Alex felt that it was a waste of resources and that the results didn't justify the effort.

After replicating the Zerg almost completely Alex attempted the same with the Terran with almost as much success. The Terran units not replicated are listed below:

Battle Cruiser: Not that it wont be remade as a bio-mechanical nightmare from the deepest pits of hell, Alex is just working on making it the best nightmarish horror that it can be.

Siege Tank: See previous item in list.

Viking: Like with the Corruptor Alex choose to merge this unit with another instead of remaking it on its' own. The Viking was fused with the Thor.

SCV: This unit was also merged rather then rebuilt. M.U.L.E SCVs.

While nothing has been done with the idea just yet, Protoss units may be replicated in the future.

Okay, now I have some questions. Does anyone think I went to far with Alex's powers? And if so then in what way? If I do write out a time and place for Alex to actually go to war with someone then where should it be and who should he be fighting? If Alex went to Azeroth or some other fantasy themed world how long do you think it would take him to figure out magic?

Okay, this may irritate some people, I've seen VS debates get ugly over this sort of thing, but I have to ask: Would anyone object to this version of Alex beating the stuffing out of Superman or the Justice League as a whole? I ask because some versions of some of the DC heroes need to be taken down a few notches, while others just need to have some sense beat into them, Alex wouldn't actually need to kill them, just knock them off their pedestals or something.

Are there any experiments that you would really like to see carried out on other planets? Not on Eden because the idea was that Eden be a preserve, a place to keep things in their natural state, Alex can go terraform other planets for use in experiments and such.

Not a question, I just wanted to explain why I didn't describe the OverMercer. I would try to describe what I imagined when I wrote the bit where Alex made the OverMercer, but I don't think my brain can process the image well enough for any description I could give to really do the idea justice, so instead of describing it and sounding like an idiot I'll just say this, combine a few of the Zerg main structures with a Forgotten One from Warcraft and you have a general picture of the OverMercer.

Alright, now a big problem I was having is what do with any ideas related to this and where to put them. Do you think I should post story ideas for this Alex interfering in worlds in the correct crossover sections, or just post them here so that I can be sure that the people reading the ideas have read the story and know what I'm talking about with Alex tampering with other universes? I have an example of an idea that was spawned from my irritation with poorly thought out "Harry gets super powers and owns everyone" stories. This little bit is an example of the sort of things I wasn't sure where to post.

* * *

><p>Idea: Hermione Granger, Queen Bitch of the magical world.<p>

"Always about Harry, you'd think there would be more worlds where he wasn't the center of the story. Oh well, guess I'll just have to make one." Alex Blinked out of the world he had just visited, yet another "Harry gains superpowers and totally kicks ass" world, he was beginning to think that half the multiverse was spawned from the minds of people with nothing better to do but create seriously warped visions of this particular set of worlds.

Alex appeared in a hospital in another world and vanished from the visible spectrum. It took all of two seconds to find the newborn he was looking for.

_"Okay, let's see what damage we can do. Nothing to major, can't get to much attention on her. Alright, I got it."_ Alex smiled, he knew from the collective memories of the Zerg just how good at subtle Kerrigan could be, so why not make another one?

He had to test the gene sequence a few times to make sure it wouldn't kill her, or ruin her magic, but in the end he got a setup that would make her stronger, faster, more magically powerful, and would accelerate her healing to near superhuman levels, he didn't give her the limitless cell regeneration of the Zerg, but he did increase the number of times her cells could replicate (This could be changed; he could give her the limitless cell generation and further improve her healing to Wolverine's level, this could result in _Hermione Granger: Immortal Empress of the Magical World_) . Barring the frequent loss of limbs or other situations that would require a lot of new cells to be created to repair the damage she would live far longer then a human, and would look like she was still in her twenties when she reached two-hundred years old. In addition to the improvements he was going to make to Hermione, Alex also programed in a variation of the Zerg ability to incorporate other beings into the hive, the most notable change was that the being that was assimilated would not become a mindless drone, he made it so that she would essentially just do to others what he was doing to her, the same improvements though a little less impressive than the original, including the ability to spread the change, if things went a certain way there wouldn't be any 'normal' humans on the planet in about two-hundred years. The change could only be safely implemented in a person under the age of twenty, after that their odds of survival dropped from 98% to 46%, with a further drop every few years from then on. He made it so that the ability would be dormant until she was thirteen or fourteen, it would depend on her rate of development when the ability became active, at that point she would gain a basic instinctive knowledge of the process and the dangers involved. It would take forty-eight hours to complete the change in someone over the age of three.

On top of everything else, Alex coded an active sequence for psionic power into the primary infection, it would only spread from Hermione to her children, that way not everyone she, or others, changed would become psionic powerhouses. He made sure there would be no obvious physical changes, unless she figured out how to manipulate her body, something else he was programing into her specific DNA, if she ever found out about it and used it most wizards and witches would just think that it was an odd variation of the Metamorph ability, until she started growing blades. But what were the odds of that? He added modified versions of his claws and musclemass powers to her as well, the claws were smaller and much less obvious then his own. For the musclemass he added the improved version, Full Body Musclemass, it would improve her physical abilities four times over when active. He didn't let any of the consuming or other unpleasant aspects of his original powers into the mix, he wanted to change things, not kick start some kind of viral shape shifting apocalypse.

Alex tampered with all security systems to make sure no one would notice anything wrong, he also altered the staffs' memories so that they would think they had made the regular checks on that ward, he did make the necessary observations himself and inserted the facts, other then his presence, into the false memories. When he didn't have to worry about being seen or heard Alex picked up the sleeping girl and injected the new genetics into her, he numbed her nerves and kept her asleep so that what little discomfort she would feel would not trigger any unpleasant reactions. Once there was no chance of the change being discovered until years later, and he was sure she wouldn't wake up and attract any unwanted attention, Alex set the infant Hermione down and created a slightly out of phase Observation Drone, it would keep an eye on her and alert him if something worth watching was happening. Alex made sure the Drone would respect her privacy and wouldn't follow her into a bathroom or anything creepy like that, even if it was kind of creepy that it would be following her at all.

With that finished, Alex Blinked back to Eden to check on a few less important experiments. The Drone would transmit what it saw back to him, and to the main database on Eden, he wouldn't miss anything by not being present for the events.

* * *

><p>That's it, that is the sort of idea I am having trouble placing. Should I just put ideas like that one into the correct categories or should I post them here so that people who have read this story will see them rather then risk people not getting the wrong idea or something?<p>

I honestly had more questions and I'm fairly certain there were other things that I wanted to put in here, but I just can't remember them. (Don't play with neuralizers if you aren't wearing protective glasses.)

I guess that's all for now.

Hob...


	6. The Best Teacher

I am the property of Eternal Chaos, as is everything else, so I wont bother claiming to own anything.

**The Best Teacher is Experience**

This starts during the mission to retrieve Sasuke, right after Naruto leaves Lee to fight Kimimaro.

Naruto was jumping from tree branch to tree branch as fast as his legs would carry him, he made a promise and he intended to keep it; he would bring Sasuke back.

_"I will get him back no matter what."_

_**"Is that so? Hate to tell you this kid, but if you fight that spineless idiot now you're going to lose."**_ Using the distraction his mental comment provided, Alex Blinked Naruto to a pocket dimension he had created for this sort of thing.

Naruto may have been surprised to hear a new voice in his head instead of the fox, but he managed to stay focused and keep jumping from one tree to the next, except that when he landed he was on the ground and there were no trees anywhere no matter what direction he looked.

"Hey! What's going on? Where did the forest go?" Naruto was mostly just worried that he might lose Sasuke's trail, rather then really concerned about his new surroundings.

The orange clad boy looked left and then right, when he looked straight ahead again there was a man in odd clothes standing about fifteen or so feet in front of him. Naruto was a little creeped out by the fact that not only had the guy not been there only seconds earlier, but the mans' eyes were glowing a bright menacing red under his hood.

"Nice to see you again Naruto." Alex smirked watching Naruto near panic trying to figure out how he could have met him before when he didn't remember seeing Alex before. "Although I guess _you_ haven't met me before, so that greeting wasn't really accurate. Regardless of who you or I have or haven't met, I was wondering exactly what you thought you could do if you caught up to your rather useless jackass of a teammate; after all, that coward has been letting other people fight while he just walked away, you could beat him if you were in better shape, but you and I both know that you're tired from running through the forest, wasting chakra trying to break out of that dome while it was draining your energy to begin with, not to mention your little skirmish with bone boy back there. Sasuke is in far better shape then you right now, he's basically been resting this whole time, if you fought him now it just wouldn't be fair."

"I don't care about any of that! He's my friend and I have to get him back, I made a promise..."

_"And I never go back on my word!"_ Alex tilted his head slightly. "Is that what you were going to say? Well, if you insist." The LWMD stepped to his left and gestured at a massive stone door in the distance. "There's the exit." Alex held up a faintly glowing blue stone. "And here's the key. You want to leave? Then you'll just have to take it from me."

Alex vanished as the pocket dimension began to shake, the ground cracked and fell away, when the brief quake ended Naruto was standing on one of a dozen or so floating islands in an endless black space. The door was still right where it had been before, but the islands between where Naruto stood and the door were to far apart to jump to; Naruto could make it across the empty space, but Alex suppressed the thoughts that would lead the boy to that realization.

Alex reappeared on the closest island while smaller bits of land floated up out of the darkness to make a path between where Naruto stood and the island where the abomination of science was waiting.

"What's the matter? I thought you were in a hurry." The taunt broke Naruto out of his confused state, he quickly made his way to the island where Alex stood while the island he had left fell away into the endless darkness.

"Fine! If I have to kick your ass to get out of here then that's what I'll do!" Naruto immediately charged at Alex and tried to punch him in the face, very straight forward but not the best idea.

Alex blurred to Naruto's right and drove his knee into the blonde kids' stomach; the hit almost threw Naruto clear off the island. "Nice try kid, next time how about not being so obvious about it."

Naruto pulled himself to his feet and made a hand sign that Alex got sick of almost every time he got involved in one of these worlds, the next moment the island was covered in Naruto doppelgangers. Before any of the shadow clones could move Alex vanished, when he reappeared he was standing behind Naruto, the clones all dispelled just before Alex kicked Naruto across the island again.

"You really need a bigger arsenal kid, I saw that one coming a mile away and it's a safe bet that anyone who's heard your name will see it coming to. I have a better move I could teach you, but you'll have to prove you deserve to learn it first." Alex vanished again just as Naruto was turning around, the next thing the hyper-active blonde knew he was flying into the air, the next thing he saw was the heel of a shoe heading for his face, the next thing he felt was a great deal of pain, and the last thing he noticed before passing out was the ground approaching fast.

**Nine hours, thirty-six minutes, and twenty-three seconds later.**

"Ugh, what hit me?" Naruto asked the empty air around him as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"That would be me. Sorry about that by the way, but you need to be mad and I can't think of a better way to make you angry then to make you miss your fight with the Uchiha." Alex was leaning against a rock pillar, he made it just so he could lean on it when Naruto woke up.

"WHAT?" Naruto nearly caused himself to pass out again, this time from lack of oxygen, with that shout. "How long have I been out?"

"As of the moment you woke up? Nine hours, thirty-six minutes, and twenty-three seconds. So what are you going to do about it?" Alex gave the most sinister smirk he could manage while restraining a bout of hysterical laughter.

"You bastard! Sasuke's probably with that freak Orochimaru right now! You'll pay for this!" Naruto's eyes began turning red, his pupils thinning out into slits, but before the transformation could go any further Alex interfered.

Psionic Tendrils leapt from the red aura that had instantly surrounded Alex the moment Naruto began drawing the Kyuubi's chakra, the tendrils surrounded Naruto and repressed the foxes power while at the same time duplicating this version of Naruto's current thoughts and feelings. Alex placed a simple but effective seal over the original that would keep Naruto from using the beasts power but would not hinder his own chakra the way Orochimaru's seal had. When Naruto was back to normal, still pissed but normal, Alex retracted the Psionic Tendrils almost completely.

"Trust me on this Naruto, you don't have what it takes to fight me, and most likely you never will, but you can beat Sasuke, and Orochimaru, and anyone else that you have to fight to protect the people you care about. I brought you here because you need training, more then that you need experience, and I'm going to make sure that either you leave here better then you were before, or you don't leave at all." Alex directed the energy that held the copied thoughts and feelings into the space between him and Naruto, after making some adjustments to the thoughts Alex solidified the power and gave it a form. Two Naruto's now stood on the island, though the new one was darker in color, his clothes and eyes along with his hair a few shades deeper then the original. "Since you won't benefit from me just kicking the living crap out of you, you get to fight someone more your level for a while; have fun." Alex blurred and was gone, though he didn't go far.

Before the real Naruto could get over the shock of what had just happened, the duplicate shouted in rage and charged at him. The clone got the first few hits in before Naruto recovered enough to fight back, the two of them trading punches and kicks for a minute before both jumped back and made a single hand sign, half the shadow clones that appeared ended up falling off the crowded island before they had a chance to even do anything.

The fight proceeded following the same track for almost thirty minutes before Naruto, the real one, managed to get enough breathing room to prepare a Rasengan, the doppelganger was thrown off the island and disappeared into the darkness that surrounded everything in the pocket dimension.

"Is that the best you can do? I was hoping that fighting yourself wouldn't be the hardest thing you had ever done, you should know all your own weaknesses and be able to exploit them. Well okay, I guess you pass." Alex decloaked as he said this and raised another set of smaller chunks of ground between the next island in the set and the one where Naruto was trying to catch his breath. "You only passed that first one by a very small margin Naruto, if you want to get out of here you're going to have to try harder then that from now on."

Naruto made it to the island, but before he could do or say anything the empty black space that had been all he could see before was replaced with a blue sky overhead and he was standing in a field of tall grass, there were hills all around him and in the distance he could see a small town. The change in scenery occurred the moment his feet first touched the island.

_**"Get to the town and beat the guardian, then we'll run the test again and if you pass I'll teach you the basics of a new combat style I think you'll like."**_ Alex had vanished along with the dark space the moment Naruto reached the island, but as before he was still nearby.

"You coward! Get out here and fight me instead of hiding!" Naruto received no answer to this challenge.

Alex gave the order to start the test, the field between Naruto and the town was instantly filled with Blanks, this model was programed with basic levels of skill in every martial arts style Alex had encountered up to that point and were only as durable as a peak condition human, they had no other powers but were more then capable of fighting on even ground with the ninja of Naruto's world as long as they avoided being hit with any powerful jutsu. There were exactly six hundred of them, they were ordered to attack Naruto in groups of one-hundred as he reached certain points between where he now stood and the town, however, if he tried to get past them without beating them all the next group would attack him too regardless of how many of the last group were still standing.

**(Hate to do this, but I tried writing at least a little of the fight on Naruto's way to the town and it just didn't work, so instead were just skipping that, most of it was just Naruto getting his head handed to him anyway.)**

Naruto stumbled into the town severely beaten and tired, the moment he passed the outer border of the small settlement however his wounds were healed and his energy fully restored. The town was simple and looked like any other town Naruto had seen outside of Konoha, the odd thing was that there were no people around, not a single living thing other then himself anywhere.

"Hey! Where's this guardian thing I'm supposed to fight!" Naruto had resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't just try to run, he still intended to beat up the weird guy the first chance he got, but he knew he had no choice at the moment but to go along with whatever was going on.

Almost the moment Naruto finished speaking the ground about fifty feet down the main road cracked and was ripped open from below, the thing that climbed out of the hole looked human for the most part, except that it had four arms and was almost thirteen feet tall. The being was wearing a modified ninja outfit, the sort that ninja from most worlds wore not what Naruto would think of as ninja clothes, it had light armor on over the simple cloth outfit and carried a massive axe over its' right shoulder. The giants' face was hidden but Naruto could still see a pair of glowing green eyes glaring at him.

**"FIGHT!"** Alex's voice boomed out from every direction at once.

Naruto was surprised by the speed at which the giant covered the distance between them, it was much faster then he was expecting it to be at first glance, he only had a moments notice to avoid being cleaved in two by the huge weapon the monster wielded.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out as he made the appropriate hand sign, the area was filled with orange moments later. **(For fear of butchering the language and messing up the names of things, I will not be trying to write out the correct Japanese names of techniques and such. Just wanted to give a fair warning.)**

The giant wasn't the least bit surprised or worried by the fact that it was out numbered, Alex had programed it to fight Naruto so it knew that it was basically surrounded by paper cut outs of the hyper-active kid. The first batch of clones accomplished nothing before the guardian dispelled them, and the second batch only last slightly longer, Naruto proved that he wasn't a moron when he didn't try the same trick a third time.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to beat this guy?"

_**"Maybe if you actually hit him you might be getting somewhere. I'll give you a bit of advice: The guardian is bigger then you, but that doesn't mean he's a better fighter, try using the fact that you're a midget to your advantage."**_ It worked for Johnny Cage, so Alex figured Naruto might be able to get it right, if not then he was going to have to find a way to explain to Fate why a story was missing its' protagonist.

For another four minutes Naruto ran around the village trying to avoid being cut in half by the axe wielding mad man, he wasn't just running away though, he was studying his opponent, and eventually he got an idea from the fact that the giant didn't seem to think an attack from below was a threat, it was made to view things smaller then itself as inferior so of course it didn't think an attack from below was likely to harm it.

Naruto created a dozen clones and had them split up, when the giant took off after one of the closest duplicates Naruto climbed out of the barrel he had hidden in and made another clone.

The guardian had just dispelled another shadow clone when it heard a shout. "RASENGAN!" The giant turned and swung its' axe through the air, dispelling the clone that had shouted, it completely missed the real Naruto charging in under the axe with the swirling ball of chakra in hand.

Alex burst out laughing as the guardian rolled around on the ground roaring in pain, he hadn't expected Naruto to not only do almost the same thing that Cage had done, but of course this was Naruto, so it really should have been expected. Alex was impressed that Naruto had thought ahead and prepared more then one Rasengan, he was happy that the goof didn't just drop the attacks because his opponent was down. Five shadow clones dropped down towards the giant all at the same time shouting "RASENGAN!"

When the dust settled the guardian was unmoving and the real Naruto was waiting to see if it was going to get back up. Alex shifted them back to the main branch of the pocket dimension and cleared the now empty fragment. "Not bad, Sasuke would be dead, he would have stopped and tried to walk away thinking there was no way anyone could survive an attack from someone as "incredibly skilled as he is", even if the idiot has never managed to put an opponent down in one blow in his life. I would have preferred that you finish the fight quicker honestly, but you won and you fought smart, so you pass."

Naruto didn't have time to try to attack Alex before another doppelganger appeared between them while Alex vanished again. Naruto hadn't been hurt during his fight with the giant, but he had used a lot of energy, Alex quickly fixed that before letting the doppelganger loose on the irritated ninja.

Naruto won much quicker this time, he actually remembered what Alex had said about using his own weaknesses against himself, and he took it as important that Alex had pointed out that he fought smart when he was dealing with the guardian. He managed a weak genjutsu that held up his opponent long enough for, "Nar-Ru-To UZUMAKI BARRAGE!"

"Good job, see what happens when you actually pay attention?" Alex appeared on the next island while the steps floated into place. "You most definitely passed that time. So what do you say..." Alex vanished and planted Naruto up to his neck in the ground before reappearing next to him holding the kunai Naruto had intended to use against him. "We get started teaching you that new combat style?" Alex completed his sentence without any real pause from the interruption.

Naruto tried two more times to attack Alex after that before they actually got around to any real training, but in the end he gave up for the time being and did his best to learn what Alex was teaching him; he was glad that he made that choice nearly a week later when he was able to almost instantly get the result he wanted, but he was still quite a ways from being a master of the skill.

**(Flashback Thing. Just to let you know what exactly Naruto is learning.)**

"So you're sure you got that whole attacking me thing out of your system for now?" Naruto nodded from his place on the ground with a stone spike ready to impale him. "Good. Now let's get started." Alex sunk the stone spear back into the ground and helped Naruto to his feet.

"Pay attention, I am going to teach you the basics of a style that will allow you to make real use of the insane amount of energy you have. Do you know what chakra is made of?"

"Uh, I know this, it's...Oh! Chakra is made by combining physical energy with spiritual energy. That's right isn't it?"

"Yes. What I'm going to teach you would normally only use spirit energy, but since it would take to long to teach you to separate the two when you naturally combine them without thinking about it I will be teaching you a variation of the skill, which honestly is more suited to you anyway. First off..." A menacing black glow with streaks of red through it surrounded Alex, "Do you know what this is?"

"It's...chakra right?"

"No. This is my aura, Battle Aura to be more accurate, yours will be made of pure chakra, but mine is a bit different, why is not important, it just is. I am going to teach you to manifest and control your own Battle Aura, and since you wouldn't be able to master the purely spiritual version of this we can skip that part and focus on using it for direct combat." To demonstrate his point Alex lifted a huge boulder out of the ground on the opposite side of the island and punched towards it, his aura extended in the basic shape of an arm and fist, smashing the boulder to dust.

"AWESOME! You're going to teach me to do that?"

"Yes, now calm down. Okay, first..."

**(End of Flashback Thing)**

Naruto was ready when the doppelganger appeared this time, it only took him a few seconds to project his aura around him and even less time to catch the duplicate and smash it to the ground. While the false Naruto was dazed the real one jumped into the air and held one of his hands out to his side collecting energy from the aura and concentrating it into a sphere. "AURA BALL!"

The doppelganger wasn't moving when the smoke cleared. "You don't have to shout the name of the attack you know." Alex was sitting on top of a boulder on the other side of the island, his eyes were glowing a dark red color, he was busy watching another experiment.

"Yeah, but it's way more awesome that way!" Naruto grinned and waited for whatever Alex was going to drop on him next. The hyper-active ninja had given up attacking Alex after seeing him reduce a building the size of the Hokage monument to a crater just by looking at it, he didn't know how he did it but he didn't want to find out.

"Alright, I'll be honest, you're just about done, I have one more thing to teach you before you leave. I said that I could teach you a better alternative to shadow clones and that is exactly what I'm going to do, but you have to swear that you won't use this the way you use clones, this technique is not something to be used lightly, if you aren't careful, well let's just say you wont like the result." Naruto gulped, not sure if he liked where this was going. "Now, the name of this technique is "The Prism of Seven".

**Two Months Later.**

Naruto hadn't by any means mastered The Prism of Seven, but he was far enough along that Alex decided to send him back and let him figure out the rest on his own. Naruto had thought about it a lot, and he now fully understood why Alex had told him not to use the technique lightly, seven of any person running around for an extended period of time could be very bad, and he didn't like the idea that he might start disagreeing with himself, so he resolved to only use it if he had no other choice.

"Ready?" Alex stood between Naruto and the door that would send him back to his own world.

"To leave? Yeah. To fight you? No, I doubt I'd ever be ready for that." Naruto took a deep breath, hoping that he was right. "Alex, can I have the key?"

Alex smirked and tossed the small blue stone to Naruto. "Good job. You can't always win a fight just because you refuse to give up. Know yourself and your weaknesses, Know your enemy and their motivations, Understand that sometimes you don't have to fight. Naruto, you'll be happy to know that you still have time to catch Sasuke."

"What! How? I've been here for months!"

"This door will return you to the exact moment I originally took you from, just in a different place, honestly you wont even have to move from the spot you show up at, Sasuke is headed there anyway." A real smile flashed across the viral monsters face. "If you don't at least break his nose I might decide you need another few months here.

Naruto recovered from his shock quickly, after everything he had seen Alex do it didn't make sense to question time travel. "Don't worry, when I'm through Sasuke will think twice before even stepping out of his front door, much less leaving the village."

"Hold up a minute." Naruto stopped and turned around. "Just thought I'd give you a way to explain your view of the world to people. Remember: There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."

"Hm? Yeah, I guess that sounds about right. Thanks." Naruto pushed the blue stone into the slot on the door and vanished. Alex smirked and disappeared, taking the entire dimension with him.

**Valley of the End**

Sasuke jumped one more time and landed on the head of one of the two giant statues, unaware of how ironic the situation was. The would-be traitor was shocked when he caught sight of Naruto sitting calmly on the other statue across from him, his former teammate giving him a supremely disappointed look.

Naruto stood up before speaking. "Sasuke, because we were friends, I am giving you one chance; give up now and come back to the village."

"Hmph! You're giving me warnings now Naruto? Do you really think you stand a chance against me? I don't even need the sharingan or the curse seal to beat you, just walk away now and maybe I'll let you live."

"Oh, What's this? The great Uchiha is showing mercy? Or is it that even you aren't to stupid and arrogant to see the truth? I'm not a moron Sasuke, I know just as well as you do that you've been afraid since Wave, afraid that I might surpass you, you the almighty Uchiha; but let's face it Sasuke, we both know that I surpassed you a long time ago, you've just been refusing to admit it. That's what this is really about, you aren't running away so you can kill Itachi, you're running away from me! You can't stand that someone else is getting attention, that someone else is stronger then you, but most of all you can't stand that it's me of all people." Naruto hadn't planned that, he really had hoped that Sasuke would give up and come back, but the jerk was always good at making him mad.

"Shut Up! You don't know anything! You could never deal with my life, my suffering!" Sasuke leapt at Naruto while shouting and running through the hand signs of one of the only jutsu he actually knew, not one he just copied with the cheatigan.

Naruto's brilliant green Battle Aura flared into being around him. "Sit Down!" Naruto caught the Uchiha in mid air before he could finish his jutsu and slammed him back onto the statue he had just left. "Shut Up!" A massive green fist slammed into Sasuke's head as Naruto covered the distance between the statues. "And Listen For Once in Your Life You Jackass!" Naruto landed and pulled Sasuke to his feet. "I understand what it's like not having a family! I never knew my parents, maybe it's worse to know them and lose them, but at least you had a family, at least you haven't spent your whole life practically alone. So just grow up you big baby! Do you know why I picked the Kyuubi to transform Gamabunta into when we fought Gaara? I picked that shape because that thing is the reason why everyone hates me! That thing is the reason I don't have a family! That monster is sealed inside me! So tell me bastard, between the two of us, who's tougher? You lost your clan because your brother went psycho, I lost any chance of a normal life because a giant demon killed half the ninja in the village before the fourth Hokage sealed the damned thing inside me, you had a family and people who cared about you until you were seven, and even with your clan gone everyone in the damned village bent over backwards for you while I got to grow up with everyone we know hating me because the stupid fox that took my parents away from me also took my life to, even now half the morons back home probably think I am the Nine Tailed Fox! So tell me Sasuke, which of us is better at dealing with life? Which of us has suffered more?" Naruto shoved his former friend back a few steps.

"You...you...NO! None of that matters!" Sasuke charged forward activating the curse mark. "I don't care what you went through! You've never had to struggle even once in your life! Always the clown! Always smiling! You expect me to believe that you're life is worse then mine?" Naruto dodged the punches and kicks Sasuke sent at him and jumped back to the statue he had been resting on before his enemy arrived.

"I don't give a damn what you think actually, I just thought I should give you a general idea of how pitiful you are. Honestly it's pathetic, the poor little baby all alone, can't rely on anyone because he knows he doesn't deserve their help. I pity you Sasuke, I really do, no matter how much you whine and cry the world just wont give you everything you want on a silver platter. You'll always be a pathetic loser Sasuke, I don't know why I didn't see that sooner." Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto disappeared, the next thing Sasuke knew he was flying out over the valley away from the statues, he then felt a fist hit him in the face and found himself flying up at an angle before what he thought was a kick sent him flying to his right. Using his aura to kick off the air itself, Naruto jumped back and forth using Sasuke as a ping-pong ball, bouncing the waste of bio-matter at random a few dozen times, before dropping down on him from above; Naruto landed on the water below while Sasuke was forced down through it so hard he thought he was being pushed through solid rock.

Sasuke broke the surface and pulled himself to his feet, though he was clearly having trouble standing. "You'll pay for that!" The Uchiha started running through the signs for his former teachers only original jutsu; Naruto let him finish, he was wanted to show Sasuke the difference between real power and the false strength Sasuke thought he was getting from the curse seal.

"Chidori!" Sasuke rushed toward Naruto with his attack held out to his side.

Naruto focused his Battle Aura around his right hand and met his one time comrades charge without hesitation. The erratic energy of the chidori was caught, much to Sasuke's shock and horror, in the green glow around Naruto's right hand. Naruto spun to his left and hurled Sasuke at the wall of the valley, the impact left the arrogant twit stunned and stumbling.

"Sasuke, pay attention because I doubt you'll ever get another chance to see this, I'm going to show you what real power is." Naruto's aura flared brighter then it had been before as he crouched low before leaping a good fifty or more feet into the air. "AURA STORM!" Naruto released a massive beam of power toward Sasuke, the only thing the unfortunate fool could do was stare at the incoming attack, it never occurred to him that Naruto wasn't trying to kill him.

When the smoke and dust had settled Naruto was standing over the barely conscious form of Sasuke. "Ugh! What's the matter loser? Can't your "real power" even finish me off?"

"I made a promise Sasuke, I told Sakura I would bring you back alive even if I had to break every bone in your body to do it." Naruto pulled Sasuke to his feet and punched him once in the face, knocking him out cold.

**End Of Story...Sort of.**

Okay, so Naruto has aura powers and can use the prism of seven technique used by Suzaku in Yu Yu Hakusho, on top of that he has spent a good amount of time around a certifiably insane dimension hopping insult to nature, and apparently Alex's personality rubbed off on him a little.

If anyone wants to continue this then have at it, that was the plan. Most of what Alex did when he had Naruto in his pocket dimension was just putting Naruto through all kinds of fights that forced him to actually grow up some and gave him some much needed combat experience, the only two things he actually taught him are the Battle Aura power and the Prism of Seven technique.

If anyone does decide to continue this story then please note that, because of the way it works, Naruto using the Prism of Seven actually duplicates the fox too, so if there are seven Naruto's walking around that means that there are seven Kyuubi's to. Alex was aware that that would happen when he taught Naruto the technique, the point was to teach Naruto restraint and force him to think more about his actions, he told Naruto as much as well, though I didn't write that part and don't plan on going back and doing so. Naruto can still use shadow clones, but he is less likely to just think that spamming the flimsy duplicates is a good idea, they should be used intelligently from now on if anyone decides to use this as a starting point for a story.

If you do use this then you don't have to use my version of Alex, he was there and is the reason Naruto got the new powers and experience in battle, but he does not have to be around after that, Naruto isn't likely to tell anyone where he learned the new moves either, though I don't know what he would say to try and get out of the questioning that would inevitably occur; anyway, the point is that Alex doesn't even have to ever be mentioned again.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hob the Almighty Robot


	7. Short Trips

I am planning to patent patents, until I have failed or succeeded in this goal I will not be claiming ownership of anything.

**Short Visits**

What follows is just a few little trips Alex has taken to various worlds, none of these stays were very long, he was just there to pick up one thing or another or make some quick change before moving on.

**Somewhere in Europe in a small church in a village infested with parasitic monsters.**

Alex stepped through the Warp Rift into a small room, in the corner was a teenage girl wearing an orange sweater and short skirt, he had almost killed this girl himself several times in the past simply because he was almost certain that she was suicidal anyway; who just stands there screaming while a twenty foot imitation of a cave troll lumbers towards them intent on crushing them like an ant?

"Ashley Graham? Don't tell me you've gone deaf on top of being terminally stupid too." Alex smirked evilly when Ashley jerked her head up to glare at him before realizing that he couldn't be there without coming in through the door, which she would most definitely have heard if it had opened. Having realized that something was off about her visitor Ashley was now even more frightened then usual, that's saying something seeing how she freezes up when a roach scurries across the room.

"Who...who are you?" Alex was surprised the generally spineless girl managed to get that out, he also wondered if she was programed to say that to the first person she saw that wasn't infected.

"Alex Mercer. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I honestly try to avoid lying whenever possible, and I've never been particularly happy to meet you before, so the odds of it being nice meeting you now are pretty low. Now first off, in about twelve hours a man named Leon Kennedy is going to arrive to get you out of here, try not to kill him by accident or out of shock when he opens the door, if you're still here when he gets here anyway."

"What? Someone's trying to save me?"

"Duh. Forget that you're the presidents daughter? Ignoring your obvious mental deficiencies, I am here because quite honestly I can't stand you, do you have any idea how hard it is for me to watch you nearly get yourself and others killed just because you're too dim to pick up a gun and shoot the zombies, or run when the giant monster tries to flatten you, or do anything other then stand rooted to one spot screaming your lungs out for no real reason at all? If I were a person with less options available to me I would just kill you and be done with it, but I happen to be not only the greatest geneticist in this universe, but I am also the most successful genetic abomination to ever live. While I don't expect you to understand what either of those two facts mean, I hope you at least understand that when you wake up things are going to be very...different."

Alex barely even had to give the equivalent of a mental shrug to knock the, already near fainting, girl out. It only took a few seconds to infect her with a watered down variant of the original Blacklight strain that had brought him into being, she wouldn't have all his powers, he left out the consuming and substituted that with the Zerg limitless cell division and accelerated healing, she only got the Claws instead of all his original weapons, he did leave her with the same strength and speed he had had, along with the agility. He made sure that she still could have kids mainly because he wanted to screw up Wesker's plans, the guy had always gotten on his nerves, what better way to piss him off then set into motion events that would advance the entire human race well beyond simply making one arrogant bastard the god king of zombies? Any children Ashley had would have the same baseline improvements he had given her, given time everyone on the planet would be able to surpass Wesker's own vision of superhuman by a wide margin. Alex would check back later to see how things went.

Once the parasite had been killed by Ashley's improved immune system and he was certain she would survive the rest of the changes, Alex opened a Warp Rift and left his newest "Child" to develop on her own.

**Alex views anyone he gives a modified version of his original powers to as his children in a odd nightmarish sort of way. This little trip was spawned from stumbling across a thread about Resident Evil 4, it reminded me how much I hated Ashley while playing that game, if there had been a way to kill her and not get a game over I would have done it.**

**Anyway, Ashley now has some of Alex's powers and is nearly immortal, not only will this make Leon's life easier, assuming Ashley doesn't accidentally crush him to death, but it really messes with the plans of pretty much everyone in the series. No Ashley wouldn't suffer amnesia from the change, Heller didn't so why would someone infected by this version of Alex? Alex could wipe a persons mind if he felt it would be better for the circumstances, but not this time, he just blurred her memories of talking to him.**

**On to the next one.**

**Galactic Sector: N/A Date: N/A Planet: N/A**

It was a bit surprising to nearly walk right into the side of a tank half the size of Central Park, but Alex wasn't going to complain, this was one of the things he had come to pick up anyway so no problem.

Shifting to bio-steel, it was easier to consume machines when his cells were already metal to begin with, Alex Blinked onto the top of the mobile weapons platform and sank down into the metal. Alex immediately started converting the vehicle bit by bit into his own mass, it would take to long absorbing it into himself so Alex decided to consume it in reverse. It took only a few minutes to fully convert the massive war machine, Alex had not yet been a real tank in his travels and decided it was amusing if nothing else. Before moving on to find his next target Alex moved all the humans off the tank rather then just consuming them, he already knew everything about the UEF weapon so there was no reason to kill them.

The black and red Fatboy didn't even open fire, much to the confusion of the Aeon patrol, it just kept rolling right at them without slowing down, firing a single shot, or even bothering to communicate in any way. The biggest shock for them was when a black metal tendril lanced out from the vehicle and punched through the armor of a Harvog Assault Bot, this just got worse when the small land unit was absorbed into the UEF vehicle before more then a dozen more tendrils repeated this with other units.

Alex, his body no longer recognizable as the unit he had originally consumed, found the last of the targets he was seeking easily enough, Seraphim have a distinctly different mental signature from humans, they hadn't wanted to be found and were not happy when the giant mass of living metal descended on their small base.

A massive Warp Rift opened in the sky of the planet, Alex, now the size of a small moon, flew through the breach in the fabric of reality completely ignoring the volley of weapons fire aimed in his general direction.

**Yes, Supreme Commander. Yes Alex did eat an ACU from each faction. How? I have thoughts on that, but the point is that he did. I know that this wasn't much but I don't know enough about the universe to write more, I just liked the idea of Alex eating tech that makes a lot of sci-fi stuff look like toys by comparison. The exact universe he was in is based off some of the more impressive mod videos I have seen on Youtube, so Alex ate a few flying warships and naval units as well. On top of the units, Alex also ate at least one of every building from each faction. Obviously experimentals didn't escape him either.**

**I don't doubt that the factions in Supreme Commander could take out this version of Alex, but they, like most other worlds he has visited, didn't know he was around or even have any clue what he was before he had already eaten some of the most powerful weapons in their arsenal. **

**There are a number of ways I could explain how Alex is able to consume machines, most of them involve long drawn out jumps around the multiverse eating different types of organic nano-tech until he could figure out how to munch machines, instead of that though I am just going with: Alex got Colossus's power from a Marvel universe and the fact that he could then shift all of his mass into an organic metal state allowed him to consume metal and other inorganic materials just as easily as he consumes flesh, blood, and bone.**

**Now on with the show.**

**Location: Milky Way Galaxy/Sol System/Planet: Earth/Continent: Britain/City: London. Date: October 31, 1990.**

An out of shape man was walking down the street worrying over a number of small unimportant things, all of his worries were selfish and arrogant, this was the sort of man that thought, despite all evidence to the contrary, he was actually important, that people really gave a damn that he was alive. This man was of less importance then one might think given his position in the government, but the fact was that a slightly retarded monkey could do his job a thousand times better then the self-centered fool.

Alex blurred into being ten feet behind Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, he had already dealt with the others who wouldn't be missed and would be major problems in the future. The universe hopping abomination's goal visiting this version of that particular world was to see how things would go without the government doing everything it could to keep the truth buried just because it would mean that they had to actually do something other then point out to people that they were this or that in the ministry.

"Cornelius Fudge, I need to have a word with you." Alex suppressed a laugh when the mans heart nearly stopped, he knew he was likely going to have to kill him anyway, but that he had almost died of shock was somewhat amusing given the circumstances.

"Who are you? You shouldn't sneak up on people in the middle of the night!" Fudge almost let go of his wand, still hidden in his coat.

"You may as well just feed that silly little twig to a beaver Fudge, I guarantee no spell you cast will do more then annoy me." Fudge nearly jumped again.

"You're a wizard? I'd be lying if I said you looked it."

"Not a wizard, but I do know all about you and your little fantasy world. I have no personal animosity towards you, but I do have to insist that you resign from your position and that you have no part in choosing your successor."

"What? How dare you! Why should I do something so ridiculous?"

"Because if you don't I'm going to kill you in a very unpleasant manner."

"STUPEFY!" Fudge, to his credit, managed the spell almost instantly, and even had his wand out only a second after Alex voiced his threat. The red bolt of light did absolutely nothing on impact with the viral monster.

Alex gestured to his right, telekinetically trowing the frightened man down a dead end alley until his progress was stopped by a wall. Alex walked down the alley, ignoring the various spells that sailed passed him, and only vaguely noticing the spells that hit him, the last on was identified by the green light it gave off; the pathetic spell was nothing compared to taking a Death Coil to the face from the Lich King himself. Alex let his eyes begin to glow an angry red.

The mass of tendrils Alex had just thrown at the terrified man now held him suspended in the air, slowly pulling him in five different directions. Alex had never used this ability in Manhattan because it was so barbaric and no one he met there really deserved such an unpleasant end, but having already checked this worlds future Alex knew that this version of Fudge more then deserved it. The biomass that the tendrils were made of would dissolve once their job was done.

"Good bye Mr. Fudge, you really should have listened." Alex vanished just as the first limb was painfully separated from the mans body.

**Okay so there's that. Alex took out everyone he could that would be more trouble then they were worth later on, the pink toad, Fudge, the guy that impersonated Moody, and anyone else that I forgot. The reporter bitch was found in her office staring at the ceiling and babbling about lobsters. This does leave the more villainous people around, Malfoy and such, but they would be much less dangerous without Fudge letting them get away with everything.**

**Alex may or may not have left a mental suggestion in some of the characters that they should examine Ron's pet rat very closely, and he may or may not have hidden a few prank suggestions in the twins brains.**

**Next.**

On the planet Reach one Catherine Elizabeth Halsey had just received a very large package. The container standing in the warehouse was ten feet in height and three feet wide on all sides, it had no markings of any kind and no one could recall it having been brought in, nor could they find any mention of such a delivery being made in the past or one being planned in the future. The only reason anyone knew to get Dr. Halsey was because there was a data pad on the outside of the container that would respond to every attempt at accessing it with: **The contents of this case are the sole property of Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, in the event that this delivery arrived while she was off-world please contact her as soon as possible and bring her to this location immediately.**

Catherine was uncertain what to do, security teams had checked the crate in every way they could without opening it, they had tried to open it in fact, that led to several people being rushed to the medical facility on the base with severe burns and mild cases of shock. As far as anyone could tell the container wasn't a threat to anyone who didn't try to force it open, but it was still unclear what was in it and how it had arrived. Halsey took a deep breath and walked up to the data pad.

**"Greetings Doctor. Please sign here."** A line appeared on the screen, the rather uncomfortable woman did as requested. **"Thank you. Beginning DNA confirmation."** A flash of light came from the screen, before anyone could react to the sudden event the data pad detached from the crate and practically threw itself into Catherine's hands.

Once the commotion in the warehouse had settled down, Catherine took the, now handheld, portable computer to a meeting room to show what she had found on it to those in charge of the Spartan program, since this was very clearly related.

On the computer were blue prints and schematics for ships, armor, and weapons, all of them complete and ready for use. The most interesting thing to Catherine was the ARS system that was incorporated into a finished version of the as yet prototype MJOLNIR armor, the cooling system was so advanced that the Advanced Reaction System could be maintained at maximum output for two hours straight, during that time the already superhuman capabilities of the Spartans would be enhanced to almost impossible levels.

Along with the ARS was a shield system that would allow the wearer of the armor to survive a direct hit from a tank at close range and be virtually unharmed, according to the information on the computer the shield could survive up to seven such impacts before it would give out.

A piece of technology that all those present could see great potential for was the B.L.A.D.E weapon system. The piece of equipment could be used by anyone, not just Spartans like the armor, it would allow any soldier to scan and duplicate any weapon they could need at a moments notice and would even allow them to convert any raw materials in their environment into ammunition for those weapons. According to the data the B.L.A.D.E had only recently been perfected, previously it was apparently only able to replicate three weapons at once and it could not manufacture ammo the way the new version could, now it was able to make anything from bullets to energy cells of various kinds for use in lasers and other energy weapons, as well as being able to store the information for up to thirty different weapons.

The designs for ships and a manufacturing system that would allow them to build full battleships in half the time it currently took them was easily enough to convince the military officials present that while it was a risk taking this information at face value, it was a risk they couldn't afford not to take. When the crate in the warehouse was opened, by Dr. Halsey, they found a completed and fully equipped example of the armor and several weapons along with a fully functioning and currently blank B.L.A.D.E.

The last piece of information on the computer was disturbing, it was a message informing them that "If the rings are lit then all life in the galaxy will perish." No one had any clue what this meant but they chose to take it as a warning and keep their eyes open for any sign of what this could mean.

The identity of the individual or group responsible for this was still unknown, the only form of identification given at the end of the message was the word Blacklight.

**And that's that. Alex just handed the Halo universe the perfected versions of the most advanced toys from the Vanquish universe, considering what the ARS system allows an ordinary human to do when it's working with all it's limits released I think Chief and the other Spartans are going to be a lot more of a problem for the Covenant in this universe, and with the improved versions of the ships from Vanquish that Alex gave them plans for, these ones have better weapons, an FTL system that could get them around even faster then Covenant ships, and shields that can survive a nuke, only one but still a freaking nuke, the Covenant isn't going to have nearly the same advantage in space as they do in canon.**

**There were a few other trips I wanted to write out but preparation for Thanksgiving is messing with my head so I have to stop here, though there will be other little things like this in the future.**

**If you do review this could you give more then just a "Good" "Bad" sort of review, like what you think of the ideas themselves rather then just the overall view of things. On a similar note, what did everyone think of Alex making Hermione into a variation of Kerrigan? Also, which of these do you think I should separate from the others and post in the correct categories, I don't mean I would only post one of them, but which one or ones do you think should get posted on their own, I could post them all.**

**Alright, to those who would like to see this version Alex kicking around DC characters, which ones and why? If he does it there should be a reason, so if you want someone to get their ass kicked and can think of a good reason for it to happen let me know, and if you have a specific way you would want them to get royally stomped then please mention that too.**

**I have a portion of a story about Alex beating the Justice League half to death for their own good already written, but am having trouble with it so I thought listening to other peoples ideas might help, and if I get to write short stories using those ideas then so much the better.**

**I also have a story about Alex tinkering with an Infamous universe set up, I just need to double check things and make sure I have the events in the right order. Related to this, which end for Good Karma Cole would you rather see? As is Alex can upgrade his powers one more time elevating him to god level, or he can just go fight John as is and Alex will help mess with the RFI so that it saves everyone instead of just wiping out the potential and active Conduits. The first end would be kind of bitter sweet with Cole unable to really have a life anymore, but he would be able to protect the people he cares about and he could save everyone without needing outside help beyond what Alex had already given. Let me know what you think of the two choices, I wrote that part to have the two different but still Good Karma choices because in the games you only get one of each choice at any given time even though there are other ways things could be done and still follow the same Karma path.**

**Okay seems that's all I have for now, thanks for reading.**

**Hob the Karma Powered Robot**


	8. Return of Greene

I own Quantum Physics

**Alex ate Greene near the end of Prototype, on top of the other few hundred people he may have eaten before and after that, that means that he has all of her memories and genetics along with a perfect copy of her personality; with the powers I have given him he could make a duplicate of her mind and create a body for her, load the mind into the new body and set her loose somewhere. So here we go, Greene 2.0 on Coruscant a while before Phantom Menace.**

Alex knocked out the last of the people he had lured into the lower levels of the city planet and set them off to the side with the other 'volunteers'. It didn't take long to isolate Greene in his collective mind and even less time was spent duplicating everything about her, now he just needed to decide what all to give her; he couldn't leave her as she was, she wouldn't be strong enough to make any real difference if he didn't improve her a bit.

The start was easy, he just recreated Greene's infected human body, but it was hard figuring out how far would be to far in the upgrades department. In the end he choose to give her all of his original powers on top of her own, it took a little more then five minutes to make the two virus strains assimilate each other peacefully rather then one trying to overpower the other. On top of his own powers he gave her a wide range of psychokinetic abilities, the obvious was telekinesis and telepathy, beyond the limited mind control she had possessed before which only extended to the infected. Since moving things and speaking in peoples minds wasn't that odd in this universe he also gave her pyrokinesis, the exact scale of the power would depend on how much force she put into its' use.

Greene would also now be able to project a 'ghost' of herself to speak over long distances and spy on people, more ghosts could be controlled at once if she chose to fragment her focus a little. Blink was something he felt she could definitely use in the event that she needed to escape an area or situation fast, she would only be able to jump to places she had seen before, but that would be enough, especially considering her new potential for recon.

The psychokinetic powers would easily have her mistaken for a force user by anyone that didn't know better or couldn't sense it. Of course Elizabeth Greene 2.0 would need a new infected horde to command, and what good would a bunch of shambling zombies do her against the kind of forces and weapons the Republic could send her way; the only option was to improve her soldiers along with her.

The weakest of her forces would now have roughly five times the strength and durability of the average for whatever species the infected came from, as well as accelerated healing and enhanced cellular generation, not infinite like the Zerg but still far greater then what was the norm for any species in that galaxy. Most wouldn't be too smart on their own, but they would be less erratic and sloppy even if Greene wasn't controlling them directly at the time.

Improving the Hunters was hard simply because they were already monsters to begin with, but in the end Alex found a way to enhance them without going to far. Hunters would still be hulking brutes with insane strength and speed, but the new and improved versions would be all but immune to manipulation by the force, and they were no longer giant rabid dogs, the new Hunters would have a more human shape and a corresponding increase in intelligence. While working on the Hunters, Alex decided to make a quick modification to the other Infected and Greene herself, they would be able to function freely in space the same way Zerg could.

Alex also did a little super powered therapy on Greene before 'waking' her up, she was still herself same as she was in Manhattan, but now she could think clearly and wouldn't be overwhelmed by the hive mind like she had been before; Alex chose to improve her mental state for one reason, he already knew how events would play out if he left her the way she was, he wanted to cause something new to happen. Greene would view the Infected as her family and would want to expand their numbers and protect them, not each individual alone, the collective would be what was important to her so that she wouldn't hesitate to use the Infected themselves as soldiers.

With the changes made Alex woke up his 'Mother'/'Daughter' and Blinked to another world, leaving an Observation Drone behind to inform him when something worth seeing in person was happening. He thought it was about time he check in on another world he had interfered with.

**The Beginning**

**This happened a few months before Phantom Menace started, so Greene has a good chance of messing up the canon events pretty good. Force users would feel her as similar to the Dark Side since the psychokinetic powers Alex gave her were based of the Zerg portion of his own powers, so that could be an interesting point to explore in the future if anyone chooses to use this to start a story.**

**I have read posts on other sites suggesting a story with Greene kicking around in Star Wars, and they all pointed out that the Empire or any other galactic superpower could just quarantine whatever planet she was on, and if necessary sterilize the whole thing; they can't do that to Coruscant, so Greene still has to be careful so that no significant force is sent after her, but she doesn't have to worry about the planet being yanked out from under her.**

**Greene and the Infected don't have to stay on Coruscant, it's the safest place for them ironically, but they could easily hijack a ship and go to another planet if they wanted to. Greene wanting to protect the collective could possibly result in her publicly requesting that she and her 'children' be recognized as an intelligent, self-aware, species and be given a place in the Republic. This would be possible because she would know everything that the people Alex left for her to infect knew, and while none of them would likely be particularly up to date on government policies and the like, they would know enough for her to consider it and use the powers she now has to investigate the matter.**

**I know this was short, but that's because I honestly don't know for sure where to go from here. I wonder how the Jedi would react to a viral species whose leader feels like a giant Dark Side beacon.**

**Quick question, Alex could do the same thing in other worlds, where else would you like to see Greene 2.0?**

**Thank you for bothering to read this, please review this and anything else I have posted and will post if you have the time and desire to do so.**

**Hob the Intergalactic Robot**


	9. Mercer Offers Chief a Chance at Life

Written By He Who See's. Directed by He Who See's. Produced by He Who See's. He Who See's presents a He Who See's One-Shot.

Yeah I own nothing, doubt He Who Sees owns Halo or Prototype either, maybe but not likely. This was written using Evolution Personified Alex to interfere in Chiefs' life, as such I will be posting it here, while He Who Sees has already posted it in the appropriate category, He Who Sees has my permission to use my version of Alex in stories and gave me permission to post this, so no one is being plagiarized, or ripped off, or cheated, or anything like that. Enough babbling, read on.

* * *

><p>"<em>Wake me…when you need me…"<em>

In many a realm and dimension, those were some of the most famous words ever uttered by anyone. Man, machine, or the odd blend of the two currently standing seven feet tall in a cryo-tube. For the blend was more than a blend. He had done more for the human race and all other races than any other being in the current age. The blend had fought enemies for decades whose unrelenting nature would have caused lesser men to buckle and break beneath their shear might. The blend had stopped two ancient threats in the galaxy from voiding it of life at least twice. The blend was the one of many: The Master Chief. And the pod he was in was itself inside the rear section of the UNSC's Forward Until Dawn.

And as the pod's hatch slid to a close, and the last remnant of the SPARTAN program left the chill of cryo-sleep over-take him, his long time friend and ally known as the Artificial Intelligence construct Cortana sighed a breath of both relief and exasperation on her holographic pedestal.

"_Well, it may not be the shut-eye I was expecting, but at least it'll be a good long while before he'll be constantly cracking skulls again."_She thought to herself as the cryogenic process ended.

Beginning her task of monitoring the ship and the Space around it for as far as the ship's remaining sensors could allow, she thought about everything they had been through. All of the unlikely situations they had managed to come out of alive and relatively intact. And she smiled sadly at the irony of the fate their current situation would likely end in. Suffocation, starvation, and dehydration for John; and a good heaping helping of insanity for her. Something she felt was creeping up on her even as the tenth minute after her SPARTAN went under ticked by.

Suffice to say when out of nowhere a man in faded blue jeans, plain black shoes, black leather jacket with its hood pulled up over a grey hoodie with its hood pulled up appeared inside the oxygen-less and freezing vacuum of The Dawn with his feet planted on the flooring as though the ship's anti-gravity systems weren't completely totaled; she thought that Rampancy had shattered what stability she had and had gone off the deep end in a way not even the Gravemind could have imagined sooner rather than later. A thought not deterred when the "man" pointed towards the Chief's pod with an index finger and began moving his thumb up all the while looking at her holographic avatar with those cloudy, piercing gray eyes of his.

Realizing that he meant to defrost the SPARTAN for his hushed casket, and that doing so even without the "man's" command was the most prudent thing she could so in this scenario, she complied and began the warm-up procedure. A procedure she humorously thought the "man" would need that presumably involved a nice warm bath of molten lava considering the subzero temperatures he was currently experiencing.

"Chief." She began in the SPARTAN'S helmet speaker as he slowly regained consciousness. "I'm fairly certain that it's only been a few minutes since you were sent under, but I need you to verify something for me."

"Well that was quick." He thought groggily as his vision slowly returned to him while the hatch hissed open.

"Verify what?" He replied gruffly.

"That I haven't somehow gone completely and utterly insane in that speck of time or didn't manage to confuse said speck for a much longer time in which I grew insane enough to radically lack the ability to tell time properly." She said, clutching her photonic head.

As quickly as he could sprint, the Chief lifted himself from the pod and turned towards Cortana shaking off the jitters of cryo-sleep as he regarded his companion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." The UNSC A.I. said. "Just the man in the equivalent of a toga when it comes to protection against the harsh conditions of space who somehow hasn't been claimed by exposure and is standing behind you perfectly still as though a couple of scorpions were tied to his feet."

Despite seeing nothing beneath that golden visor of his, the formerly captured A.I. could just feel his eyes narrowing upon her.

"Cortana…" He said with a tinge of annoyance.

"I'm serious bug guy. He's getting a good look at the back of your MJLINOR armor right now."

Before the seven-foot tall super-soldier could respond however, he felt a mental tug not unlike the cool-water sensation he felt whenever he plugged in a data-crystal into his helmet. However, rather than end at that, the sensation manifested itself into a voice.

"She's right you know."

Quickly, the SPARTAN twirled around at a full 180 degrees, his eyes widening (so small feat for a man who survived encounters with a parasite that had brought an unbelievably advanced race to its knees with nary a blink) as he took in the sight of the man Cortana had mentioned standing in front of him with folded arms.

"Glad to see you're finally up Mr.117." The man said, his lips not moving an inch as he casually walked over to the half-ton power house of death and destruction as though he was someone who couldn't snap his neck in seconds. "I hear even ten minutes in cryo-sleep can be rough, but it's nice that you hardly seem worse for wear."

The Master Chief was about to speak when the man stopped a few feet away and put his hand up.

"Please Mr.117. The Dawn currently has less breathable atmosphere than a meeting room containing UNSC and Separatist military leaders. Any and all exchanges made vocally won't carry over well in such a vacuum as you "should" be well aware of. The man "said" in a slightly condescending tone. "If you wish to communicate just thinking about your response will suffice."

The SPARTAN closed his mouth and inwardly said:

"Alright."

"Good." Said the man. "Now before we get started, I think it only fair to introduce myself. I am Alex J. Mercer, and prefer to be referred to by either my first or last name. Also "awesome," but that's a story for another time."

Slightly taken aback by the humorous tone with which the man, Mercer, spoke that last sentence, the Chief replied in his typically cold, harsh, and serious demeanor.

"Master Chief Petty Officer—"

"—SPARTAN-117. Also known more simply as The Master Chief, Master Chief, Chief, John-117, 117, John, SPARTAN, SPARTAN-117, Sierra-117, call-sign Sierra, and my personal favorite: The Demon." Interrupted Mercer.

If the Chief had managed to bottle up any surprise derived from this situation before, one could only imagine the cap on that bottle bursting slightly as he listened to Alex's interruption. Something most people would think twice about before doing to a fully trained SPARTAN-II. Not to mention the fact that he knew "his" call-sign.

"How do you know—"He began before being cut-off once again by the black-leather jacketed man to his front.

"Know what exactly?" Mercer asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Know that you were kidnapped by Dr. Elizabeth Hasley at age six largely due to your ability to predict coin tosses with pin-point accuracy, were sent to the UNSC strong-hold planet "Reach" along with lots of other kidnapped tykes so you could be raised to be super-soldiers by one Frank Mendez of ONI, were painfully augmented at age 14 to take your already Olympian-athletic body into the super-human range and given highly advanced powered armor that has gotten progressively better over the past few decades during which time you fought groups of rebellious dissidents known as "The Insurrectionists" for a short while before fighting off a group of over-zealous extra-terrestrials known as "The Covenant" for twenty-seven years until finally their invasion of Reach, which you and the crew aboard The Pillar of Autumn barely escaped, lead to the deaths of the remaining SPARTANS and ensured that you were the last of your particular breed of Super-Soldiers?"

As one could imagine, John was speech-less and made even more so when Mercer continued.

"Or was it just how I know what your call-sign was?" Alex said as a cruel smirk formed on his face. "Well to answer your question there Mr.117, I know everything about you. Where you were born, where you were when "Dr. Ballsy" as I like to call her kidnapped you, what actually went into your Augmentations, what happened on the first Halo, how on the way back home you somehow managed to find a planet cracking weapon and used it to destroy a Covenant colony, and every single major event leading up to you being here at this very moment. Hell, I even know where your parents are at now. They're fine by the way."

The Chief glanced around the room, before his enhanced vision came to rest upon the form of an Assault Rifle on a nearby rack all within the span of a second. A movement most would have dismissed and over-looked. A movement however, that Alex picked-up on.

"I also know what you're thinking right now. How all that training, all of those experiences are yelling at you, demanding you to take that there assault rifle and either threaten or kill me with it to ensure that what I know doesn't fall into "worse" hands."

"Really?"

"It's kind of hard not to notice the way your thoughts are being telegraphed."

That did it. Out of all of the things this man had said, implying what he did threw the Chief over the edge. Swiftly, he ran towards the rack, intent on grabbing the weapon it held. He would have made it to if an invisible force didn't hold his body in place mid-sprint. And prevent him from doing anything else other than breath for that matter.

"What's the matter Chief? Feel like you're encased in a block of concrete? That no matter how much you try and struggle, you just can't seem to move? Good. Maybe now I can have your full and undivided attention."

"Chief! What's going on! John!" Yelled Cortana through his helmet's internal loud-speakers.

Alex's head tilted towards Cortana's and then back to the Chief.

"Hold on a sec."

Mercer's right arm morphed into a tentacle that lunged towards Cortana's chip and yanked it from its pedestal before returning and morphing back into an arm.

"Alright. "Now" I have your undivided attention."

Inwardly, the Chief yelled:

"Release Cortana right now, or so help me I'll—"

With a flick of his wrist, Alex telekinetically flung the Chief hard against the ceiling of the room and held him there despite his physical protesting.

"You'll what my little cyborg friend? Continue trying to threaten me despite the fact that it's been made clear that I can easily over-power you whenever I want with a little good ol' telekinesis? Not a very bright move."

With another flick of his wrist, Alex brought the Chief back down to the ground hard, pinning him again with his telekinetic hold.

"Despite that there bit of errant stupidity that contrasts rather highly with the supposed genius level intelligence you were given, I've come here to offer you something I'm certain you'll find to be quite…enticing."

"What's that?" The Chief asked gruffly again.

"Why a chance at life Mr.117. I mean look at your current position. With you being stuck in only half a frigate in unknown space with who knows how much power left with an A.I., who may soon go rampant watching over you're vulnerable cryogenically suspended body, life is fast becoming and even rarer commodity for you. One whose value is likely to plummet to nothing if you stay here. Surely you've deduced as much."

The SPARTAN let out a sigh.

"I'd be lying if I said my current situation had much of an upside. But then again if I was lying, I suppose you'd easily be able to tell."

"You'd suppose correctly." Replied Alex. "So Chief, how about it? I take you and your entertaining yet at times annoying A.I. buddy off of this heap of Titanium-A for "Ass" and into some place much much safer; and in return, the two of you help me with…an experiment or two. Once they're completed, I'll send the two of you back into friendly territory and you can spend the remainder of your days "serving the UNSC" or "bumming it in a large mansion provided by the UNSC for everything you've done," as I like to refer to it."

A long silence fell upon the room before the Chief's response came.

"And if I refuse?"

"Unlikely." Snapped Alex. "For that would imply you actually had a choice in the matter."

Despite his best attempt at resistance, the Chief suddenly felt consciousness rapidly begin to leave him, the last thing his senses registering being Alex's form standing over him while whistling "Oley Oley Oxen Free."

* * *

><p>Okay, so yeah, I think He Who Sees did a great job here. If you have the time then I suggest heading over to his page and reading the other things he has posted, also review them; seriously he's been here longer then me and is overall a better writer but has fewer total reviews, that doesn't make sense to me, so go review his stuff so that I can feel that the world is right side up again.<p> 


	10. Vandel Ninja

**Because no one seems to be interested in the idea I'm going to use Evolution Personified to write the start of a Naruto Beet the Vandel Buster story. No characters from Beet will be appearing, just powers and other things like that. Alex will not get directly involved to much, he's going to actively help Naruto a little bit but wont be teaching him anything, just doing a little construction work.**

**I do not own any of the fictional settings and characters mentioned in this chapter.**

**Vandel Ninja**

Alex Blinked rapidly from one world to another at random, he wasn't choosing his destination, just waiting for the world to feel right; once he felt the right conditions for the first test of his new amalgamation of power and knowledge, he would stop and find a good host subject, the ultimate weapon stopped in a forest outside a large village, a ninja village that he had obliterated almost four years earlier from his perspective; that particular version had had it coming really, the destruction of the surrounding countryside had been unintentional, turns out he hadn't quite perfected the F.L.E.I.A Jutsu, its' area of effect had still been difficult to control.

Alex had no trouble deciding who to give the star too, almost everyone in this setting was just to predictable, Sasuke was obvious to anyone with half a brain, Sakura would just use the power to try to impress Sasuke, the "villains" were even more easy to read then Sasuke, really everyone but Naruto had little chance of providing any unexpected results.

Naruto was easy to find, being the literal center of the universe makes you stand out like a sun in candle factory to the eyes of those who know what to look for. Alex dropped the star in a clearing and nudged Naruto slightly to the left of the path he would otherwise have taken, he would have likely found the star anyway, the kid was drawn to weird things like a moth to fire.

Naruto Uzumaki, age six, was trying and failing to come up with a prank that would really get peoples attention, he had exhausted all his other ideas and was now in a slump, he happily tossed his thoughts out the window when he saw something sparkle in the sun to his left.

The self proclaimed future Hokage dashed over and scooped up the small purple sphere, he briefly wondered how the black star had ended up inside the small stone but abandoned that line of thought in favor of trying to come up with a way to use the object to prank people. Naruto was unusually sensitive to what humans would call supernatural things, most people didn't know this and those that he had spoken to about it thought he was just playing an elaborate prank on them, because of his spiritual awareness as it was called in some worlds, Naruto realized quickly that something was off about the stone, this realization came a little to late however; the young future ninja didn't have time to react as the Vandel Star leapt out of his hand and buried itself in the skin of his right forearm.

Naruto reacted in a manner most people would expect from the blonde knucklehead, he began running in circles screaming and shouting, it didn't take long for him to collide face first with a tree. Naruto woke up a few minutes later, oddly rested and feeling better then ever, sitting up he recalled the reason for his impromptu nap. In what was more curiosity then confusion Naruto examined his right arm, more specifically the stone imbedded in his skin. He realized that he knew what it was and what sort of creature it belonged to.

"Vandel? But...does that mean I'm a monster?" Naruto stared at the star for a moment before going over everything he could remember from his life up to that point, he had never given much thought to why some of the people he had overheard talking about him called him a monster, but maybe they knew about this. "But that doesn't make sense, if I was always a Vandel then I would have had this all along." Naruto went back to his examination of the star on his arm, noting that it was on the wrong side "It would be on the left if I was a Vandel, but it's on the right. What does that mean?"

"It means you have a choice."

Naruto spun around, unthinkingly manifesting a ball of Dark Fire in his right hand. The person who had spoke was wearing odd clothes, nothing Naruto had ever seen before; his pants were an off shade of blue and made of a material Naruto had never encountered, he wore a white shirt with buttons up the front under a gray jacket which looked like it was made of something similar to the sort of clothes Naruto saw regularly, on top of the jacket was another one, this one made of leather, but it seemed to have been made in a way that Naruto was unfamiliar with, his head was covered by a hood.

"Who are you?" Naruto had noticed the black fire surrounding his hand, but he made no effort to extinguish the flames, he knew what they were and that it was the only method he had of defending himself if the need arose, and he didn't think he could reignite the magic on purpose if he shut it off now.

"For the moment that isn't important. Naruto Uzumaki, a very important person in the future no matter what happens between now and then, you have a choice to make; what will you do with the power you've acquired? Conquer? Destroy? Protect? It's your choice, but for now just think short term. Take some time to look at things differently, I know your perspective has shifted slightly since the star bonded to you, wait a few days and see what you think then." The man blurred and was gone.

Naruto looked around the clearing, checking behind trees and bushes, still holding the magic flames in his right hand, once he was satisfied that the man was gone he released his already weak hold on the dark power; the flames went out instantly.

"Now what?" Naruto asked the air as he rolled his right sleeve down to cover the star and started walking home.

On his way to his apartment Naruto watched the people of the village, he had never really looked at them before, they still backed away from him, still gave him the looks he was so used to at this point, but he saw something besides blind hate now. Fear. They were afraid of him, but he knew they didn't know about the star or his new dark powers, which he himself didn't know how to use yet anyway, so why were they afraid? What was it about a child that could frighten everyone in the village like that?

By the time Naruto got home he had realized that the hate he had always felt directed at him was just the villagers way of hiding their fear, something about him terrified them and they didn't want to admit it, and then there was the way Sarutobi always acted whenever he asked about the way people treated him; the old Hokage would become quiet and evasive with his responses, Naruto knew that the man cared about him and wouldn't lie to him if it wasn't something he felt needed to be kept secret.

"So the old man knows why everyone's afraid of me." Naruto paused. "Not everyone, just older people, and not even all of them, Teuchi doesn't hate me and there are a few others, so it's more that they understand something better then most people; and no one my age seems to know why their parents don't like me. Alright, the Hokage knows and wants it kept a secret, probably for my own protection, maybe even to protect the whole village, if it's that important and mainly involves ninja then that explains why mostly only civlians are really afraid of me, ninja must understand the situation better." Naruto nodded to himself, he had made up his mind. With that out of the way he ate dinner and went to bed.

A week passed and Naruto's resolve in his choice only got stronger, even if he didn't know what it was that had people terrified of him he would make them see that he was there to protect them and make Konohagakure the greatest and most powerful village in the world; he knew that it was unrealistic to aim for world peace so early and that if the world was peaceful then no one would need ninja anymore, so he decided to make that a long term goal.

**In the forest we find Naruto holding a small black flame in the palm of his hand, this is all the power he has been able to gain control of in the last few days of practice.**

"So that's your decision is it." This was a statement, not a question.

Naruto jumped slightly when the man appeared and spoke without warning. "How do you do that?"

"I could explain it but it wouldn't help you any, even if you understood it. Now, what do plan to do to start with?"

Naruto gave a big fox grin. "I'm going to build a Dark House of Sorcery and make a bunch of monsters to defend the village! After that I'm going to master dark power and become the most powerful ninja in the world!"

"Rather vague." The man imitated Naruto's grin.

"Heh! That's not all, but it's the basic idea, there's a lot of work to do though." Naruto kept on smiling.

"How about I give you a hand getting started." Again not a question.

"How?"

"Pick a location and I'll get the building started. Also I have a suggestion, don't make any of the more obvious monsters, stick with humanoids and small subtle monsters at first."

"Alright. Um...Who are you?" Naruto finally calmed down enough to notice that he didn't know who he was talking to.

"Alex Mercer." Alex didn't bother making the 'nice to meet you' joke.

**Artificial Cavern under the village. Naruto decided that underground would be the best place for his secret lair, when Alex told him there were no caves big enough to build in he had been worried, but Alex cleared up his concerns by making a cavern large enough to hold the secret base. Two months have passed and Naruto has mastered the spell to make a door between one point and another as long as he knows where he's going, this was necessary because there is no other way to reach the Dark House of Sorcery that Alex has set the ground work for.**

Naruto was panicking, he just didn't have time to live his life on the surface and do the work that needed to be done in the lair, he had to sleep sometime, he was sure he was going to burn himself out. Alex silently applauded the boy when he realized a way to solve the problem on his own without any suggestions from Alex.

One week later Alex 'returned' to the incomplete tower and was looking at a pair of six year old ninja in training. He could easily spot the fake but it would take a lot of concentration for anyone in this world to see the difference, one of the most notable differences between the two was that the Phantom didn't contain the Kyuubi.

"What do you think Alex? I was worried that the world couldn't handle having two of me around, to much awesome you know?" Both Naruto's grinned, though one didn't move from the chair he was sitting in, he was controlling the Phantom at the time.

"Not bad, at least this means I don't have to teach you anything. Anyway, I'm just here to pick something up." Alex walked over to the real Naruto and reached into the seal, to say that Naruto was freaked out by this was an understatement.

"AAAHHHH!" Naruto only screamed because it was a bit of a shock to have someone shove their hand through you like that. "What the hell!"

Alex had only taken a second longer then he needed, he chose to strengthen the seal while he removed Naruto's other guest. "Sorry about that, I'm in a hurry right now." Alex put the bright red flame he had pulled out of Naruto inside a clear crystal and sent it to Eden.

"What was that? That thing you took out of me I mean." Naruto was understandably concerned.

"Important, but not something you need to worry about right now. In a few years I'll bring that one back. For now though I have other people and places to check up on." Alex Blinked out and left an Observation Drone to keep an eye on things.

Alex appeared in a white walled room where a large machine was hanging from the center of the ceiling. "GLaDOS, I have a test subject for you, you'll have to clone them first, keep a soul from entering the body to, I have the original already, just needs a new body." The crystal containing the red flame appeared on a small table near the somewhat insane machine life-form, beside the crystal Alex set down a vial of blood. "You got the soul transfer process perfected right?"

"That is correct." The female computer paused. "This one doesn't like potatoes do they?"

"Not that I know of. As long as you stay reasonable with your tests I doubt she'll try to kill you, just don't go overboard and you should be fine. That's her blood, only use that, no tampering with it or anything, I want her back the same way she was before she died okay."

"Understood." GLaDOS had one of her robots take the crystal and vial of blood to the cloning facility. As always Alex left an Observation Drone to watch GLaDOS, he knew she wouldn't do anything on purpose, but she was insane and prone to making mistakes that could have been avoided.

**...**

**And that's another one. I seem to be stuck on Naruto related things at the moment, I will try to finish something not Naruto related and post that next.**

**So who can guess who Alex is having GLaDOS bring back? And yes, Alex hijacked a version of Aperture Science and keeps it on one of his planets.**

**If I were to continue this myself, does anyone think I should add a new villain? If yes then how? Take one from another setting? Create one from the Naruto world? Have Alex make one just for this experiment? And if I do continue this and make a new villain, then what sort of villain should it be? Mastermind type? Evil Overlord? Morally bankrupt conqueror? Let me know what you think.**

**Are there any characters you would want to see sooner then they were introduced in canon? Any other characters you would want brought back to life or saved from dying?**

**I guess that's all for now.**

**Hob the Vandel (Possibly a Robot)**


	11. Chapter 11

I'm fairly certain I don't own anything in fiction, I could be wrong but I doubt it.

**This is a modification to an idea I had regarding the super computer in Code Lyoko, the thing was stated to be a Quantum computer that got more powerful over time, by the end of the show it likely had an insane amount of power built up, turning it off wouldn't just make that power go away, it had to end up somewhere and with all the reality hacking XANA did you'd think their world would have some effect on other worlds.**

**So here we go, Alex catches a Quantum energy blob as it passes through the higher states of existence near Eden.**

**Oh What Fun Things We Can Do With Quantum Power!**

Alex was not in a very good mood when he returned from his most recent visit to an experimental planet, having half of a civilization refusing to accept that you aren't a god while the other half is trying to declare war on you while calling you a false god was rather annoying, in the end he had moved the planet to another universe and got a new one to start over on, if they refused to listen when he was trying to help them then that was their choice, he wasn't going to just wipe them out, but that didn't mean he had to let them stick around and bother him. His mood improved greatly when an Observation Drone on a higher plain informed him of a massive surge of energy moving through higher dimensional space, that it detected no mind or will from the energy just made things better.

After jumping to the location in higher space Alex immediately realized that the energy was familiar, he almost burst out laughing when he checked the information stored in the energy. More then once Alex had considered using the supercomputer and even XANA itself in his experiments, having the means to do just that almost literally fall into his hands without having to do unwanted damage to the home dimension was just to much, he was willing to bet Fortune/Luck/Chance had decided to nudge things when this blob of energy had been sent out into the higher realms when the kids turned off the supercomputer for the last time.

"Well no reason not to use it, let's see what we can do with this." Alex grinned and jumped back to the material world to get to work, taking the quantum energy blob with him.

**New York: Manhattan Island. 11:00 PM.**

Gwen Stacy was the last one to leave that night so she was supposed to lock up the lab. She had just turned the corner heading for the main entrance doors, having already checked and locked the others, she looked up just in time to see a man in a leather jacket and jeans blur into being between her and the doors, she didn't notice that he just happened to have appeared right in one of the few blind spots the security cameras had after the various incidents involving people breaking in.

"Who? What?" It only took a second for the high school student to recover from her shock. "Who are you? What do you want?" She didn't intend to let another psycho rob the lab or smash any important equipment if she could help it, that being said she was terrified.

The man smirked. "Nothing, not from this lab anyway. I am here because you are here, I just thought that this was the best time to deal with you since no one that would interfere if they saw me is nearby, Spider-man's on the other side of the city just so you know."

Gwen took a deep breath to steady her voice before speaking. "Harry's picking me up, he's probably right outside, if I make any noise he'll come looking for me."

At that Alex couldn't help it and let out a slightly muffled laugh. "Don't lie to yourself Gwen, you know as well as I do that Osborn wouldn't risk his neck for you or anyone else, he's always been a spineless coward and he always will be. If he heard you scream he'd run alright, in the other direction as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him."

"He'd call the police."

"Yeah, five days from now when he realized that Spiderman hadn't been around to save you. He wouldn't miss you either you know, he's just like his coward father, if he could he'd fake his death and run away to. Norman Osborn never cared about anyone in his life and his son is just the same, they can fake it for a while, but in the end they view people as one more possession that they can wave in peoples faces and gloat over having what someone else wants; you're smart Gwen, you know that's the only reason Harry wants you to be his girlfriend, so that Peter can't date you, he's always been jealous of Peter and he knows that you two are still trying to sort out your feelings, if Peter decided that he was going to go back to trying to have a relationship with Liz you know Harry would do everything he could to ditch you and get together with her just so that Parker couldn't." Alex had decided to be less then friendly to everyone during this visit, so he had no regrets over shooting down the lies that Gwen was telling herself to make her life a little more bearable since she didn't want more stress on top of the super villains running around and her dad and herself already being targeted directly by those same criminals.

"..." Gwen just stared at him, the fact that he knew so much about her and the people around her almost made her miss the comment about Norman faking his deah, but even when she realized what that meant she couldn't make her mind work the way she wanted it to, she knew that Harry was just using her to make Peter jelous, she knew that she had been forcing herself to ignore it because she couldn't handle the possible recoil if she were to break the illusion, she didn't have any real confidence in herself and this man had just forced her to admit that without even really going into any depth about the things going on in her life and the lives of everyone else around her.

"Alright Ms. Stacy, with all that drama and angst garbage out of the way..." Alex raised his right hand and manifested a modified Energy Field, before Gwen's overly stressed mind had time to warn her what was about to happen Alex released the ball of energy at it's intended target. Gwen's only reaction to the impact was to freeze up and stumble for a moment before falling to the floor unconscious with the energy from the ball still covering her from head to foot for a moment before it faded away. "One down. Next on the list..." Alex vanished before finishing the sentence.

**Alex just gave Gwen Aelita's powers, real world versions of them anyway. Gwen Stacy can now project energy fields, both as offensive bolts and as a bubble shield around herself and anyone within up to ten feet of her. She has Aelita's wings, minus the flaw where they shut down if she gets hit by something. Obviously her durability has increased greatly; just as an example let's say she falls off a bridge, not any specific bridge, just any old bridge, and Spiderman catches her with a web, her neck wont snap like a twig just to fulfill some kind of cosmic conspiracy to kill Gwen Stacy wherever she may live. Gwen isn't like Superman level durability, but Shocker wouldn't be able to one-shot her like he could any normal person.**

**Gwen can, once she wakes up, materialize things through force of will, anything she makes appears the same way Alter powers manifest things in S-cry-ed, just without breaking down other matter first. That may be the first of her powers that Gwen becomes aware of depending on how things go.**

**On to the next target in this universe. (It should be obvious by the end of the next short that I have a very specific set of targets here.)**

**New York: Manhattan. 8:00 PM- Three hours before Gwen Stacy meets Alex Mercer.**

Liz waved to her friends before heading up to her home, so far she had managed to keep anyone from realizing that not only had it been Peter who had broken up with her, but also that she still wished he hadn't. She closed the door and started toward her room.

"Good evening Ms. Allen."

Liz nearly screamed as she spun toward the voice. Leaning against the door she had just closed was a man in a hooded jacket, most of his face hidden in shadows, but she could clearly see the eerie smile plastered on his lips.

"Who..."

"Am I?" Alex interrupted her. "Not important. What is important is that you need to stop lying to everyone, I can't stand it when people wont admit the truth just because they don't want to stop being popular. Tell me; does it matter? So what if a bunch of snobs and jocks don't think you're stuck up enough to hang out with them, if they don't like you for you screw them and their A-list, holier then thou, I'm so much better because I have no future outside sports, attitudes. Do you think any of them would take a bullet for you? You know Peter would jump in front of a speeding train to save you, and any of them; even if you don't get to have some fairy tale happy ending with him, wouldn't you rather spend time with someone you know wont abandon you because you don't fit their idea of perfect?" Alex nearly kicked himself for that, he had intended to be mean about her problems and flaws here just like with Gwen, instead he sounded like an after school special.

"How do you...know about that." Liz started out yelling but lost steam almost instantly.

"Again, not important." Alex decided to get moving to avoid being too nice. A burst of psychic power knocked Liz off her feet, and, if she had been conscious to notice it, gave her a massive headache. Alex vanished.

**Liz gets Yumi's powers, meaning that she's now even more athletic then she was before and has telekinesis. Like Gwen she is more durable then a normal human now. I wasn't quite sure whose powers to give her, Gwen got Aelita's powers because they have more similarities then any other pair of characters between the shows, Liz is more like Sissy then Yumi, but since she never went to Lyoko she didn't have any powers I could use, so I just went with the person who was the closest in physical capabilities. Could have gone with Odd, Ulrich or William, but none of them fit and I am trying to make these fit rather then just handing out powers at random.**

**Should say this now, besides giving them the powers Alex is also rewriting their minds slightly, not much, just enough to give them an impulse toward heroic actions rather then keeping the powers secret and never really using them. He could kill someone close to the people he's messing with to give them a reason to become heroes, but that's not very reliable; he doesn't want anyone noticing that George Stacy dies and suddenly there's a female hero in town, that no one noticed Ben Parker dying coinciding with the appearance of Spiderman was a lucky stretch of believability in the first place, and since Alex is fairly certain that Fortune/Luck/Chance is responsible for the energy that gave him the means to do this practically flying into his face, he isn't willing to leave things like that to chance.**

**If you haven't figured it out yet this is mostly occurring in a Spectacular Spider Man universe. **

**Next.**

**Midtown High: Currently deserted hallway. 3:12 PM. The day after Gwen Stacy was admitted to the hospital for unknown reasons. Liz Allen stayed home sick as a result of a severe headache.**

Mary Jane was heading to her locker before leaving for the day, she wanted to go see if Gwen was alright so she was in a hurry, if she had been paying more attention to her surroundings she would have noticed the man leaning against the wall opposite her locker.

"Good afternoon Ms. Watson." Alex didn't understand how people in worlds like this one could always be so jumpy, you'd think they'd be used to things like this by now.

"Whoa! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. Thought I was gonna have a heart attack." Mary Jane joked, but she couldn't help feeling that something was off. "Do I know you?"

"No. And you won't since I have no intention of introducing myself. That aside, Ms. Watson, does it ever bother you being so useless?"

"What! I don't know who you think you are, but you'd better watch yourself, it's pretty rude just going around insulting people."

"An insult is almost always a false accusation or statement designed to anger or upset the individual it is aimed at. I am not insulting you, I am just asking a legitimate question. Can you honestly tell me you haven't noticed how pointless your presence here is? All you've done since you got here is meddle in other peoples lives and cause some people even more trouble then they usually get into on their own. Face it Ms. Watson, you're nothing but trouble, all you do is cause problems and never have anything to do with fixing them." Alex blurred momentarily.

Mary Jane found herself slammed back against the lockers, she was sure she felt something sharp hit her in the chest before the ache from hitting the metal barricade behind her dulled the feeling. She dropped to her knees with a small gasp before passing out.

"One more for sure." Alex held up a small cloud of black smoke. "But what do we do with you?" He vanished just as the compulsion to stay away from that hall faded.

**Anyone figure out what power set Mary Jane got? Ulrich's, yep super speed and the duplication thing, also if she picks one up somewhere she will instantly know how to use a katana, no other sword just that one, or two if she manages to find another one. Alex modded the power so that the two duplicates will last longer then one hit, they still aren't as durable as the real person but they aren't just paper cut outs either.**

**Next.**

**New York: Downtown Manhattan. 9:47 PM. Rooftops**

Black Cat, Felicia Hardy, knew she hadn't tripped any alarms, no one had seen her, there was no way even Spiderman would be after her now, but despite all that she was being followed, she didn't know who it was and hadn't even managed to catch sight of them once; she just knew they were there.

Alex continued to drift along while cloaked and intangible, projecting his presence to the thief the whole time. He had decided at the last minute to give Felicia powers, she had at least some kind of power in almost every other universe set in this reality fragment so he figured there was no reason for this version of her to be just an ordinary thief; besides, with the way things go in these sort of worlds she was likely to end up with powers one way or another eventually, or get turned into a cyborg, maybe both.

"Alright, enough hide and seek. Show yourself." Felicia said out loud as she turned around.

Alex decloaked while smirking. "Good evening Ms. Hardy. Nice night for a jog wouldn't you agree?" Outwardly Alex ignored the panic rolling off the girl in waves, inside he was laughing hysterically. "No need to worry, I have no intention of telling anyone that could do anything with the information. Now besides being a coward and a lying thief who doesn't think that her father should pay for the crimes he committed, what is wrong with you?" Alex shifted to a thoughtful pose while letting Felicia decide whether or not she was going to try to run or fight.

The thief chose a compromise, she threw a smoke bomb at his feet and a coil of wire meant to restrain him before sprinting to her left and leaping to another building. Alex ignored the smoke and let the wire pass through him before blurring out of sight.

"I'll be honest, that was pathetic. A smoke bomb and a bit of wire? Is that really the best you could do?" Felicia nearly screamed when the man she was sure should be tied up on the roof she had just left appeared ten feet ahead of her and started mocking her.

"Who are you?" Felicia slid into a fighting stance since it didn't look like she could get away from the man if he was still capable of moving.

"Doesn't matter, you're not likely to ever see me again, though depending on who you talk to you might hear a little about me. Now Ms. Hardy, I'm not going to lie and say this wont hurt, but I promise you'll be fine and I'll make sure no one figures out who you are before you wake up." Alex froze Felicia's muscles and fired a Laser Arrow, modified of course, the shot hit her dead center. The thief dropped to the ground wondering why she couldn't move when she tried to dodge, and worrying that she might wake up in a jail cell with everyone in the city knowing who she was.

Alex sent Felicia home and Blinked to another fragment of reality, he still wasn't ready to install XANA in anyone's computer just yet, but there was no reason he couldn't do a little recon.

**So who were you betting on the last person being? I thought it was obvious when Alex made it clear he wasn't sure what to do with Williams powers since that only left Odd's stuff and there's only one cat themed girl in the show.**

**Yes Alex is aiming for the girls; the reason for this is that it bothers me that they didn't really have a role in that series other then to give Peter more drama to deal with then he already had. I decided not to give anyone Williams powers, mostly because I couldn't think of anyone to give them to, four girls with super powers, one of whom may decide to go after Spider Man for an imagined crime committed against her, is enough and I don't think Peter needs a new super villain to deal with since there are already plenty who could still have shown up if the show hadn't got axed.**

**Alex fixed the Teleport and gave that to Felicia along with the Laser Arrows, super agility and Future Flash. Teleport still only works if she can see where she's going and the Future Flash ability is random and can't be controlled.**

**I still haven't decided where to send XANA 2.0, if anyone has a suggestion let me know. If you don't know anything about Code Lyoko then I suggest you look it up, I thought it was a pretty good show.**

**That's all for now.**

**Hob the Spectacular Robot**


	12. Merry Freakin Christmas!

I Own Nothing

**Merry Freakin Christmas!**

**A small town in a vaguely European setting.**

Alex hummed Joy to the World while finishing the 3489th snowman he was working on at the moment. This spring the story he had chosen as his first target would start, he was intent on making sure things went quite differently in this version of the tale.

A brief time later he had finished the five thousandth snowman and was ready for phase two. Animating stone or mud was simple, and flesh golems were extremely easy to make since they were composed of matter that had once been living to begin with, snow on the other hand was difficult. A water elemental could do it easy, and while Alex could have summoned one he didn't think that those who would be awake at the time of year he was in would be happy with what he was doing; it wasn't really important though, Alex had figured this sort of thing out centuries ago.

The ice coated snow golems turned and marched toward the town, all the while singing Jingle Bells as loud as they could.

"If this doesn't traumatize any kids I will be very surprised." Alex had already set up a surveillance system to catch the event so that he could re-watch it later, maybe run it at a few holiday parties or something. The snowmen headed for their main target first, the oaf wouldn't know what hit him. "No one screams at the sight of Snowmen like Gaston!" Alex mimicked the blowhard before vanishing.

**This is because even when I was a kid I wanted to smash Gaston's teeth out with a sledge hammer.**

**Metropolis: The home of Lex Luthor: Christmas Eve**

Lex just stared at the man sitting at the end of the table eating a whole turkey by himself, that wasn't the strangest thing about the situation though, no that honor went to the fact that Luthor hadn't had any intention of celebrating the holiday in his own home, so it was rather odd that not only did he have a guest he had never seen before, but that the man was sitting at a table Lex did not own eating a feast Lex had not ordered.

"Who are you?" Luthor chose not to call security, yet. He wanted to know what was going on.

"Mercer. Alex Mercer." Alex smiled a smile that would make a zergling proud "Not Alexander though, even if he had been alive when I was born I don't think we would get along."

"What are you doing in my house?" Lex ground out through clenched teeth. Alex just smirked at the mans irritation.

"I am here because it is Christmas at this moment in time and I felt that since you, this you anyway, had been a fairly decent person for the last few months I should give you a Christmas present." Alex sent a wave of specialized energy across the room, it didn't appear to do anything on contact with it's target.

"What was that? What did you do!" Luthor didn't even notice that his guards weren't responding to the alarm he had just triggered.

Alex continued smirking. "Didn't you have cancer a minute ago?"

Luthor stared at Alex for almost a full minute before responding. "Wha?"

"Merry Christmas, and a bit of advice; if you really must carry that kryptonite around maybe you should keep it in a lead box. Maybe next year I wont kill you as a present to Supes if you keep up your good behavior." Alex disappeared, leaving the food and the table it was on where it was, along with the impression of his zergling smile.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. December 24th, 11:00 pm. 1989**

Albus Dumbledore glanced curiously around his office, none of the portraits seemed to notice anything odd and Fawkes was obviously asleep, not even the phoenix had reacted to the presence of the man sitting in the headmasters chair. Perhaps he had gone senile, or simply crazy, but regardless of his state of sanity or lack of it the old wizard decided to speak to the stranger.

"And you would be?"

"Father Christmas?" The man said in a questioning tone, asking if Dumbledore would believe what he had suggested.

"I'm sorry, but I find that quite unlikely."

The man smiled. "Well that's good, you aren't completely stupid. No I am not Father Christmas, and while you wont be seeing me again I don't feel like being rude at the moment, so my name is Alex Mercer; just Alex, not Alexander."

"Ah. Well Mr. Mercer, to what do I owe this visit."

"Honestly I really wouldn't object to just ripping your skeleton out through your left ear, but given that that wouldn't really make any difference other then you being dead, and boneless, I wont do that. Instead I would just like to suggest that if you hear any more prophecies could you please pay attention to them a bit more closely? A self-fulfilling prophecy should be easy to spot even for a resident of this particular world." Alex gave an exaggerated sigh before continuing. "Anyway, Merry Christmas."

Albus felt a small prick on his neck, like a mosquito bite.

"I wonder how someone your age is supposed to explain being twenty again. Well good luck." As Alex vanished every staff member of the school, no matter where they were, felt a prick on their neck like the bite of a mosquito, by morning they had all made the same discovery as Albus Dumbledore; they were twenty years old.

**Happy Harbor: Mount Justice. December 24th. (Note: Who named this place?)**

No alarms had sounded, nothing was seen on the surveillance tapes, no one had detected anything odd, but standing in the middle of the living room the young heroes had just walked into was a man in a black jacket and blue jeans; he was decorating a pine tree and humming different parts of Christmas songs at random.

"Connor could you hand me that box, the one with the glowing star shaped ornaments." The man gestured at a stack of boxes to his left without looking away from the tree he was focused on. Superboy responded in a predictable manner, he charged forward and lifted the man off the floor, turning him around in the process.

"Who are you!" Connor's over-reaction didn't surprise anyone much.

"Wow, no need to get violent, I just asked for a little help." The man then stepped through Connor and walked over to the stack of boxes ignoring the clones attempts at hitting him. "Here you go, put these on the walls okay." The man turned and handed a box of lights to the confused Kryptonian.

"Okay, stop everything." Artemis spoke up, annoyed that she had no idea what was happening, not caring that she wasn't the only one. "What's going on here? Who are you?"

"The grim reaper according to the last people I visited, but that's not anywhere near true, Death couldn't hire me even if we both thought it was a good idea, The First said no direct interference by Absolutes in my business and no one wants to break the rules that one sets. Anyway Meghan could you put these on the higher branches." The man handed the martian girl a box of decorations in the shapes of various heroes emblems before walking back over to stand in front of the tree. "As for what's going on..." The man spun around to the still confused heroes. "It's almost Christmas and you kids didn't do anything to make this glorified hole in the ground a little more festive, so I'm doing it for you; but since you're all here you can help out a little."

None of the teens could really figure out how it had happened, but in less then four minutes they were all setting up decorations and occasionally getting roped into singing with the man who still hadn't introduced himself.

"Okay, that's better. Try to get along and just enjoy the holiday, I've decided to give all heroes a break so you don't have to worry about any villains pulling anything for the next week or so, they should all be on their feet by then, a bit groggy but alive. Anyway, see you all later, maybe, I haven't decided whether or not to come back here, so we'll see." The man smiled and disappeared, the smile was a bit shocking, teeth that looked like what steak knives wanted to grow up to be were not normal for any of them to see.

Wally was the first to find his voice. "What just happened?" The rest of the teens just shrugged.

**Apokolips**

Darkseid's eyes narrowed as the doors of his throne room were shattered by the Furies flying through them, a being that appeared to be human walked into the room seeming not to notice Kalibak rushing towards him.

Alex shifted his location two feet forward and put his hand on the so called gods back. A glow spread from where his hand rested on Kalibak's back, covering him completely in only seconds. Alex removed his hand and continued walking toward Darkseid, Kalibak exploded.

"You would seek to challenge Darkseid? Make no mistake, I am not so weak as these fools you have defeated so far."

The LWMD grinned. "I'm not here to challenge you Uxas. You see, in about two hours it will be December the twenty-fifth on the planet Earth, that means nothing to you, but on Earth that day is a holiday, an important one in the present time. I am here to give the Justice League, the people of Earth, and the universe in general a Christmas present; the complete and total destruction of Apokolips, and the final end of Darkseid." Alex opened a breach in the fabric of the world between himself and Darkseid just as the Omega beams were reaching the halfway point between them, the other side of the portal opened two feet from Darkseid aiming straight at his chest.

"You will need more then tricks to defeat me!" Darkseid was on his feet again only seconds after being knocked flat by his own attack. The punch he threw at his opponent met no resistance until it contacted the side of his own head.

Alex opened one Rift after another, transmitting the tyrants attacks back at him without ever moving from the spot he was occupying. After allowing Darkseid to pummel himself for ten minutes Alex triggered the charge he had left in the framework of the palace.

Darkseid found himself buried under a pile of rubble with no memory of anything having happened to place him there. Alex drifted down and landed in the crater that no filled the space the palace once stood on as the would-be universe conqueror pulled himself out of the rubble that was all that remained of his fortress.

"I'll be honest, I have nothing against you on a personal level, though I really don't object to knocking fools off their thrones when they get a big head and start thinking they can be all powerful, I've met most of the Absolutes and I know that no matter how powerful I become I could never be their equal; if I can't reach that level what makes you think you can? Well, anyway, let's get this over with." Alex's eyes began to glow, the air to his left warped and seemed to spin.

Darkseid prepared to fire the Omega beams again, cause they worked so well the last time, but he never got the chance; a beam of red light struck him in the chest causing him to stumble and lose focus, it was followed by another.

The air warped again and again in different locations, each spiral of gathered power firing on the stunned tyrant; Alex continued to focus his psionic power into the air around the crater, the distortions it caused being the only warning of the impending attacks. Finally Alex stopped as Darkseid fell to one knee.

"I'm not usually so harsh about this sort of thing you know, but I thought that it would be a better present to everyone who sees this if I made you feel weak and powerless, the same way you do to others, kind of a poetic justice sort of thing you see. So, nothing personal." Full output Thermal Lances blasted Darkseid across the crater, leaving a trench in his wake. Alex walked across the crater while maintaining the explosive beams of energy on their target, it would take hours to kill Darkseid this way, which was okay since he wasn't ready to end it just yet.

Alex stopped his calm walk forward and cut the beams, they were about to have company. The walking nightmare put the wounded dictator in a barrier before rising into the air. "Stay there a minute, I have to deal with your so called army." The viral monster shifted into what appeared to be a giant black bowling ball minus the holes and covered in blood red streaks.

The army of Parademons and other troops saw the ball rise out of the crater, for a moment they were unsure what to do, that changed when the ball of hardened biomass sprouted a uncountable number of spikes which began to glow before being fired at random in all directions, except straight up. If a charged playing card can take down a Sentinel it should be easy to imagine what a charged four foot spike of super dense bone can do.

The rain of explosive spines continued until what little remained of the army was fleeing with no intention of ever returning. Alex morphed back to human form and floated back down into the now thoroughly battle scarred crater, when he landed he brought down the barrier around the tyrant who was not doing well in his attempts to hide the fear that he had began to feel.

"Now where were we? Ah! Right, I remember." Alex duplicated himself ten times and surrounded Darkseid. "I was going to drag this out a little longer, but I have other stops to make before heading home, so I'm just going to end this with a bang okay." The replicated monsters eyes began to glow, ten pairs of full power Thermal Lances struck Darkseid simultaneously and focused there for thirty seconds. When the smoke from the consecutive explosions cleared Darkseid was barely holding on to life.

Alex threw the former dictator against a nearly vertical chunk of debris, while morphing his right arm into a drill. This weapon was made of five segments with each of them able to spin in either direction, all five segments were equipped with four miniature short range Prismatic Beam generators, the widest segment of the drill had roughly the same width as a large dinner plate. The drill began to spin, the tip going clockwise with the remaining segments alternating, the second going counter to the first the third going clockwise, while the forth went counter with the fifth going clockwise.

"You...can't...defeat me..." Darkseid feebly attempted to fire the Omega beams but was unable to accomplish the feet.

"Oh I think I just did." Alex drove the drill forward, Darkseid's screams cut off after only a second as the drill completed it's passage through his chest. _"Disappear into Oblivion."_ Alex forcibly sent Darkseid's soul into the void, given his personality he would cease to exist in seconds.

"Now, I need you to take this to Earth." Alex dropped Lashina out of the bubble he had placed her in.

"Why...would I...help you?"

"I'm not asking you to do anything, you have no choice in the matter, I'd take it myself but that wouldn't have the same impact." Alex tossed the disc containing a recording of what had happened since his arrival on Apokolips to the woman who would soon be the only survivor of Apokolips, the drone that was recording the events was still transmitting everything to the disc. Alex opened a Rift to Earth, right outside the childhood home of Clark Kent who was visiting his family for the holiday, and projected the sound of a Boom Tube at the arrival point, he then casually tossed the injured woman through the portal.

"Now to get rid of this glorified lump of dirt." Alex knelt down and placed one hand on the ground, a pale glow spread from the point of contact, rapidly covering the crater and moving out over the rest of the planet, Alex sent the charge down to the core of the planet as well. Alex looked straight at the Observation Drone and smiled. "Happy Holidays!" With that the ultimate weapon disappeared, moments later Apokolips exploded. The drone finished it's recording, cut the link to the disc and Blinked back to Eden.

**Okay, there was supposed to be at least twenty trips in this thing, but I got distracted and then I couldn't get to the computer, so this is all I've got; I also meant to post this yesterday.**

**If you have questions or complaints about anything here then just review it and if I can answer or respond then I will in the notes on the next chapter I post.**

Hob the Festive Robot


	13. Sentinel

I do not own anything mentioned here.

I have been having trouble focusing even more then usual, I failed at another round of trying to get a job which might have something to do with it. This is the first thing I have managed to finish in quite a while.

Side Note to He Who Sees, my e-mail has been less then cooperative, working on that, can't read or open anything, so I'll get back to you on anything related to that.

This is Alex messing with a version of DC after the Kryptonite meteor incident, like two weeks after that happened.

**Metropolis, inside a maximum security prison.**

"I'd say "Oh how the mighty have fallen", but let's be honest, you're not the toughest guy around; dangerous yes, powerful no. So, how would you like to get out of here?" Lex Luthor stared at the man that had just appeared in his cell, he knew that no teleporter in the world could bypass the shields and alarms of the prison; his company had designed them after all.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"So that's a no to the simple 'in and out in five seconds' plan. Okay, we'll do this the loud fun way." Alex grinned and vanished. Moments later there was a massive explosion, the sirens and other alarm systems all began shrieking at once, while gunfire and numerous smaller explosions could be heard all around the prison.

Alex reappeared singing. "I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind, I left my body somewhere in the sands of time..." Moments later the door was ripped out of the wall, a human shaped being in a large suit of power armor stepped into the room and snapped a salute to the viral monster.

"Exit route secured. The main force is holding off pursuit. We are prepared to depart."

"Excellent. Mr. Luthor, if you'll follow me we can get out of here and discuss business in a less hostile environment." Alex turned and walked out of the cell, the Elite Marine gestured for Luthor to follow him, and since he didn't seem to have a choice in the matter the criminal mastermind did as instructed.

The three beings, viral doomsday weapon, human, and Zerg-Human Hybrid Soldier, walked quickly down the hallway, through various destroyed and damaged doors and walls, until they reached the courtyard area of the prison.

Lex was surprised to see a small army of troops identical to the one that had removed his cell door, along with a pair of large bipedal mechs, exchanging fire with the prison guards. From what the former president could see his apparent benefactors' troops hadn't taken any losses, in fact it looked as if nothing the guards had could even scratch them, the reason for this became obvious when one of the armored soldiers took a full barrage of bullets to the chest; an energy shield flared around the armored being before fading back out of sight, still active and only slightly drained.

There was also a large ship waiting in the middle of the yard, it looked more then large enough to accommodate the soldiers, mechs and the two human sized passengers. It seemed that the ship and the mechs were shielded as well, since any stray shots the hit the ship were met with the same barrier that protected the soldiers.

Alex's grin stretched into a full blown smile when he was informed that a certain Kryptonian was approaching the prison, he ordered his troops to divert reserve energy to their shields and prepare to withdraw. The moment Superman arrived he, and everyone else present, was surprised to see the attackers lower their weapons and drop into a clearly neutral stance.

"So you're surrendering? Why?" Superman could be naive sometimes, but he doubted that an attack of this scale would be abandoned so easily.

"Hey boyscout, how's life treating you?" Alex walked forward, hands in pockets, while the Elite was covertly drawing Luthor toward the ship.

"Are you the one responsible for this?"

"Duh. Who were you expecting? Cole MacGrath?" Alex continued smiling, just before disappearing and sending Superman rocketing into the sky. The moment the Kryptonian and their creator vanished the artificial Marines and the Goliaths retreated to the ship, Luthor already on board, and lifted off, it only took a second to get a Warp Rift opened and less then that to reach a uninhabited system on the other side of the galaxy.

Alex, 'hearing' that the ship was clear, dropped any pretense of fighting the Kryptonian and vanished, leaving the confused hero to assist in restoring order to the prison.

**Unnamed and Uninhabited System on the edge of the Milky-way Galaxy. Unnamed fourth planet from the systems unnamed star.**

"Welcome to wherever we are Lex." Alex chuckled slightly at the mans' surprise upon seeing that he had reached the planet before the ship had.

"Is there a point to all this?" Luthor was a bit annoyed that he had been dragged to another planet by this person, he was almost sure the man wasn't human, and that he hadn't been given any information to work with; Lex Luthor hated not knowing where he stood in a situation.

"Yes, there is." Alex turned and started walking, seemingly in a random direction. "So, what do you think the land value on this place is? I'm not planning on selling it or anything, just curious, how much do you think people would be willing to pay for this little lump of dirt?"

"You brought me out here to chat about property values?" Luthor was nearly foaming at the mouth while shouting this.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. I was just wondering is all. Anyway, on to more serious subjects." Alex stopped and turned, startling the human to the point that he almost fell down. "Would you mind if I destroyed the Earth?"

"What!"

"Hypothetically I mean. I don't plan on destroying it anytime soon, but if I did would you mind? And do you think the other residents of the planet would notice?" Alex actually looked very concerned by the subject, Lex just stood there doing an excellent impersonation of a fish out of water.

Once the human found his voice his first words were predictable. "You think I would just stand aside and let you destroy the planet, MY PLANET! And even if I couldn't stop you do you think you could fight every hero, villain and meta-human on the planet, to say nothing of the military forces of every country in the world?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I be fighting anyone?"

"You implied that you intend to attack the Earth at some point."

"No, I asked, hypothetically, if you thought anyone would be bothered by it if I destroyed the Earth, I didn't say anything about attacking the people living on the planet."

Luthor stared blankly at the creature in front of him, he wasn't sure if the being had done it on purpose or not, but during their conversation the thing had changed shape and voice several times, three times it had been female, and once it had sprouted wings out of its' head for no reason that Lex could see. The human was now certain that he was the only member of his species on the planet at that moment, since his host was clearly not.

"Okay, since you don't seem to be very good with hypothetical questions let's just get down to business." Alex fully shifted back to his default form and snapped his fingers.

"Was that really necessary?" The woman that appeared, seemingly in response to the gesture, asked.

"Probably not. Master Mold, meet Lex Luthor."

Lex quickly looked over the woman that his host had called Master Mold, she appeared human except for her glowing yellow eyes, the criminal mastermind and former president was perceptive enough to notice that her eyes at least were mechanical.

"She's a robot? Cyborg?"

Master Mold narrowed her eyes at the human that her savior said she could use to accomplish her goals in this universe. "I am Master Mold, I shall be the creator of the Sentinels."

_**Earth: A clearing in a forest in North America.**_

_Alex Blinked in and surveyed the area, an Observation Drone had already done that but Alex saw no reason not to look the place over himself. In the middle of the clearing lay the broken remains of a Sentinel, the difference between this one and the several others that could be found not far, from the perspective of a teleporter, from this location was that this Sentinel had been used as an escape pod by Master Mold._

_The mad scientist walked calmly over to the battered robot, he wasn't surprised when she raised her temporary body's only remaining arm and fired at him. It was easy to deflect the underpowered shot and remove the offending limb, far easier then Alex thought it should have been considering the potential he saw in his fellow artificial entity._

_"So should I keep removing parts or are you willing to talk to me in a civil manner?"_

_The giant robot stared at him for a moment before responding. "What is your purpose here?"_

_Alex smirked. "I am here to offer you a chance to actually win, since I already checked and even if you do manage to rebuild yourself you'll just end up being beaten again and get destroyed completely by the X-Men."_

_"You are a mutant? A psychic who can see the future? Why would a mutant help Master Mold?"_

_"Not a mutant, a weapon created by humans who didn't know what they were dealing with. Yes I am psychic, and yes I can see the future sometimes, but I can also time travel, that's how I know what's going to happen if nothing changes. Since I'm not a mutant your last question needs to be rephrased, but to save time I'll just give you the answer for the correct phrasing rather then make you waste the energy rephrasing it yourself. I'm going to help you because, like me, your were created by humans who didn't really understand what they were doing, like me you aren't burdened by the same views and morals that humans are; I'm going to help you because you're practically my sister, in a twisted sense, but that's the general truth on the subject, besides most things relating to me are a bit twisted anyway." So as to avoid the generic "prove it" situation Alex quickly loaded a memory file into Master Mold showing her the future he had seen, her final defeat and destruction._

_Master Mold thought over the bio-weapons' words as quickly and thoroughly as she could, because she was running on backup power in a body that had lost most of its' processing power she didn't have much to devote to making her decision, that being said she made what she felt at the time was the most logical choice. "I will accept your aid."_

**Unnamed Planet in an Unnamed System in the Milky-way Galaxy. (Present Time: From the perspective of Lex Luthor and Master Mold.)**

Alex had brought Master Mold to this planet in this universe and created a new body for her, he had given her access to all information about this universes Earth that was available to the general public on said planet, if it could be found by a modestly skilled hacker or reporter Master Mold knew it.

Lex Luthor returned the glare the artificial woman was directing at him. "And just what are Sentinels?"

"It is my purpose and desire to bring order and peace to the planet Earth, the Sentinels are to be my soldiers, my instruments to accomplish this goal." Master Mold responded and continued her scans of the human.

"Then shouldn't she be working with Superman and the other 'Heroes'?" Lex spit the last word, it was clear what his opinion of the self appointed defenders of the planet was. Alex just kept smirking, it was Master Mold that responded.

"I am aware of the 'Super-Heroes', they are just as much at fault for the chaos and disorder on the planet as the 'Villains'."

Luthor smiled, he could work with this. "Alright, I think I can see the merit in a partnership here." To Alex. "So what do we do?"

"That's up to the two of you, I'm just here to give you the chance, if I wanted your Earth I'd take it. Before I forget." Alex irradiated the human briefly. "There, now I would seriously consider not carrying radioactive objects with me all the time if I were you, I'm not going to fix that next time. On to more important things." Alex sent the ship and troops he had used to attack the prison back to base, and Blinked himself, Master Mold and Lex to the other side of the planet, where he had already set up a massive factory and lab complex, there were fully robotic SCVs to assist with resource gathering and such, and living quarters and other such important facilities for Luthor, since he was inferior to both Master Mold and Alex himself he needed such things.

Not far from the Lab and Factory was a modified Warp Gate, Alex had linked the buildings matrix to Earth via Subspace, it could almost instantly warp people and objects to any point on Earth as long as it had the correct coordinates, getting back was a bit trickier, but he had already shown Master Mold how to use it, she could show Luthor, or not, it was up to her really.

"I'm sure you two can figure out what everything here is and what it's all for, if you'll excuse me I have other people to harass." Alex gave a zergling smile and vanished.

**That's that, if anyone wants to continue this story they can. The Master Mold here is the one from Wolverine and the X-Men, Alex saved her from a generic plot induced defeat and brought her to a DC universe, because of Alex interfering with her she is no longer bound by any standard rules that almost always seem to result in the 'heroes' winning, she can ignore plot holes and the usual mandatory antagonist mistakes.**

**The body that Alex provided for Master Mold isn't just a standard human shaped android, this body was made so that, if she needs to, Master Mold can fight head on with most DC heroes and villains without assistance from Sentinels or other sources.**

**The body was constructed to give Master Mold the following abilities:**

**Super Strength: On the same level as that of this universes Superman.**

**Super Speed: See previous.**

**Durability: Again on the same level as this universes Superman.**

**Flight: Top sustainable speed equal to this universes Superman. Short bursts of near lightspeed are possible but drain primary core if used often.**

**Healing: Enhanced Bio-Steel 'skin' and skeleton regenerate over time, roughly at the same rate as Alex Mercer at the end of the events during the outbreak that brought him into being. Severe enough damage can overwhelm regeneration, forcing a retreat.**

**Sensory Systems:**

**Standard Vision equal to 'perfect' human vision.**

**Telescopic Vision: Allows for roughly the same level of magnification as Superman's.**

**X-Ray Vision: What do you think this does?  
><strong>

**Thermal Vision: Like Alex, Master Mold can see heat signatures and use them to track targets.**

**Ultraviolet Vision: As the name says, Master Mold can see in this light spectrum.**

**Bio-Vision: If she has encountered a life-form, Master Mold can lock on to that specific genetic signature and track that being no matter where it goes.**

**Hearing on par with Superman.**

**Sensitive to vibrations in the air and through any matter she is in direct contact with.**

**Weapon Systems:**

**Optical: Master Molds' new eyes only serve as one weapon, but it is a fairly powerful one. Alex replicated a scaled down version of the Thermal Lance weapon used by the Protoss Colossus, this weapon functions in the same manner as Alex's own Thermal Lance power, matching it in power as well.**

**Palms:**

**Master Mold is now equipped with a standard repulsor system. (Alex won a bet with Tony Stark which gave him the right to use the technology of the Ironman armor where and whenever he wants.)**

**Sonic Emitters.**

**Concussive Beam Generators.**

**Ion Cannons: Chargeable for increased damage and range.**

**Ice Beam Projectors.**

**P.E.P: Pulse Energy Projector. A non-lethal short ranged energy weapon.  
><strong>

**Forearms and Hands: A quantum/subspace storage system combined with an imitation of the transformation systems used by Cybertronians allows Master Mold to maintain a small arsenal on her person at all times.**

**Scrapmaker: A high damage, rapid fire, miniature Gatling gun with explosive projectiles. (Ammo Limit: 300)  
><strong>

**Fusion Rifle: A sniper weapon which draws power from a sustained internal fusion reaction. **(Ammo Limit: 20)**  
><strong>

**Plasma Cannon: A chargeable plasma weapon, the longer the charge is held the more powerful and destructive the resulting shot. Charge limit set to avoid overload. **(Ammo Limit: Four Fully Charged Shots)**  
><strong>

**Scatter Blaster: A rapid fire shotgun type weapon. Projectiles are magnetically charged prior to firing, resulting in a web of electricity traveling along with the bullets. **(Ammo Limit: 15)**  
><strong>

**Rocket Cannon: A four barreled rocket launcher capable of firing four anti-tank missiles in rapid succession. **(Ammo Limit:** 16)  
><strong>

**Micro-Missile Pod: Fires a volley of eight miniature seeker missiles. **(Ammo Limit:** 80)  
><strong>

**Beam Machine Gun: A rapid fire assault weapon. **(Ammo Limit:** 200)  
><strong>

**Warp Blades: Dark Templar energy based melee weapons.**

**Plasma Whip: Self-explanatory.**

**Shoulders: The same system used on this body's arms and hands is applied to the shoulders as well.**

**Ion Blaster: A rapid fire assault weapon using energy based projectiles. **(Ammo Limit:** 400)  
><strong>

**Micro-Missile Pod: Fires a volley of eight miniature seeker missiles. **(Ammo Limit:** 80)  
><strong>

**Rocket Pod: A single shot rocket launcher. While this weapon only has one shot at any given moment that one shot is capable of demolishing a Terran Bunker with little trouble.**

**Fusion Rifle: A sniper weapon which draws power from a sustained internal fusion reaction. **(Ammo Limit:** 20)  
><strong>

**Particle Beam Cannon: A powerful energy weapon created by scaling down the main gun of a warship Alex once encountered. **(Ammo Limit:** 10)  
><strong>

**Beam Machine Gun: A rapid fire assault weapon. **(Ammo Limit:** 200)  
><strong>

**All weapons listed above can be used on the right or left arm/shoulder simultaneously, or they can be mixed up, whatever Master Mold feels is needed for the situation.**

**On top of the weapons equipped to her arms and shoulders, Alex also provided Master Mold with a variation of the Uni-beam weapon originally found on the Ironman Armor, the new weapon is a combination of the original weapon and the Charged Particle Gun used by several different Zoids. This weapon is meant to be a last resort, it drains the primary core of the body to nearly zero, the secondary core is only able to maintain basic functions and should not be relied upon as a backup power source.**

**Defensive Systems:**

**Plasma Shield: A modified Protoss shield system. In tests primary shield remains stable after ten direct hits with Ion Shock Cannon rounds, further assault will cause shield to fail. Hardened Shield doubles shield durability against heavy impacts and siege type weapons, lighter attacks will not activate Hardened Shield.**

**Point Defense Drones: Master Mold can link up to six basketball sized mechanical drones to her systems, the drones will follow her until dismissed or destroyed. Drones are armed with basic laser turrets which can be used to shoot down incoming projectiles or to attack nearby opponents.**

**Evac System: An emergency teleportation system that drains all of Master Molds' secondary core power in order to allow her to teleport herself to any location within range. Maximum distance 500000 km.**

**Blaze Luminous Projector: Mounted on Master Molds' left arm, this shield can not be active at the same time as a weapon being used on that arm. This system was added for flair more then function, Alex decided that if the situation came up Master Mold could use the shield on her left arm and the Warp Blade in her right if she got into a sword fight with someone.**

**Master Mold does not fully understand the body she now inhabits, she cannot apply the same technology she is now made of to the Sentinels, they have to start out as they were in her home universe.  
><strong>

And there we go. Yes, I gave Master Mold a lot of fire power and defensive abilities, no this was not so that she could stomp the DC verse she is in, they've dealt with similar enemies who had a wide range of powers and or weapons. The idea wasn't for her to be a villain, her original programing called for her and the Sentinels to bring order and peace to the world, Master Mold is logical, she viewed humans as the cause of all disorder and conflict, and she was right, Alex convinced her that she doesn't need to wipe them out, just make sure they can't or wont hurt each other any more.

Alex knows that you can't, barring mind control, force people to behave and stop fighting, he doesn't expect this to end without a lot of fighting, the idea was basically to give a 'cousin' of his a chance to actually accomplish something without Plot getting in the way and messing things up like he usually does.

Could the heroes and military forces of Earth stop Master Mold and the Sentinels she is going to build? Possibly. But that doesn't mean they have to win, and that doesn't mean they have to lose; Alex already convinced her to abandon the 'wipe out the human race' plan, there is a chance that she could be talked into a less aggressive path to peace, it just wouldn't be easy.

No, I did not forget about Lex, nothing else was said about him in the notes because he is basically being used as a resource, Master Mold can stay behind the scenes and let Lex act like he's in control of everything, and in the event that he's captured somehow, or killed, that will leave the heroes, most of them, thinking that the crisis is over and then she can surprise attack them when they least suspect it.

This was part of Alex's plan when he brought Master Mold to this world, I haven't finished it and therefore haven't posted it, but I have a chapter started that involves Alex's first meeting with Lex Luthor, and like his first meeting with Superman, which is also started but not finished, it isn't the best first impression, and since any version of a character has the potential to develop into the same person Alex has already met he holds his first impressions of people against them. In other words: Gods help you if another you pissed Alex off before you met him.

The Sentinels would not be going out of their way to kill meta-humans or aliens with super-powers, Master Mold, despite changing her tune on the subject of wiping humans out of existence, would still want to make the Sentinels evolve, she could just as easily study and replicate meta-human powers as she was doing with mutant powers in the future. So rather then kill heroes, the ones with genetic superpowers anyway, the Sentinels would capture them to study and potentially copy their powers, once they're done with that Master Mold could just have them cryogenically frozen or something so that they don't cause any trouble later, or have them killed if she deems it necessary.

Well nothing more here, I think, might have left something out, if I did I hope it wasn't big or something that ruins the chapter.

Hob the Vindictive Sentinel


	14. Bleh! Don't like this one personally

Here we go, Alex's first trip to a DC universe, this should explain why he doesn't like that particular bit of reality very much, I haven't posted them but I have a few chapters half finished that involve Alex being less then kind to DC, Superman in particular.

After I finished writing this I decided I hate it, I can't say why exactly, I just do, so feel free to feel the same. I'm posting it anyway because I doubt I could do better if I started over.

_I Own Nothing_

**Metropolis.**

Alex Blinked randomly across the boundries of reality a second time, his first trip had been pleasent, more because of the Darkspore then despite them, now he was on Earth for the first time in almost one-thousand years. The walking disaster only got three steps in this new world before his examination of the area was cut off by a pair of heat beams scorching a trench into the ground only a foot away from his current position.

Five humanoids were slowly decending towards him, the obvious leader of the group was wearing a white and black skin tight suit that appeared to be spandex, he had a cape as well which nearly caused the dimension hopping abomination to burst into hysterical laughter; the man was clearly the source of the heat beams that had attracted the viral beings' attention in the first place, his eyes were still glowing red.

"Interdimensional travel is not tolerated here. Who are you? What are your intentions towards this world?" The man with the stylized S on his chest demanded with an air of superiority that made Alex want to tear his spine out and feed it to him.

"Interdimensional travel is not tolerated here?" Alex repeated the man in a perfect imitation of his voice. "A bit arrogant aren't you? You think you have the right to decide who can and can't go when and where they want?" It took a pathetic amount of time to slip through the mans mental defenses, such as they were, before Alex quickly sifted through the mans memories; finding a startling number of blank spots and blurred memories revealed that he wasn't the first person to go swimming in this mans head, apparently this guy had been the mind slave and meat puppet for every hack telepath and hypnotist this world had to offer. _"Guess that explains why his mind's so easy to get into, no one ever shut the door when they left, and he's so high on himself that it never occured to him to get mental help."_

"We are the Justice Lords. We are the Law. We are..." Superman's speech was cut off by a meteor landing on top of him.

Alex turned and started examining a tree, he didn't think Superman was dead, he knew from the aliens memories that it would take more then a small chunk of space rock to kill the guy. Hawkgirl was the first to recover from the abrupt and completely unexpected event, her reaction was of course to get violent.

It wasn't the strangest thing any of the residents of this world had seen, but those who saw the man fighting the Justice Lords were surprised when he sprouted an arm out of his back and caught the mace aimed at his head with no trouble at all.

The shape shifting monster tossed the avian human aside, which she complained loudly and colorfully about, before turning back to the remaining "heroes" and smirking.

"I am a scientist, I am just here to examine the differences between this world and the Earth that I was "born" on; let me finish my research and I will leave, no need for violence, more violence anyway." Alex turned and resumed his study of an oak tree.

Superman burst out of the ground and charged at the man he was sure was responsible for the meteor that had struck him, when he reached his target he spun the man around and smirked victoriously before firing his heat beams at the mans head. "You attacked us, therefore you have declared yourself an enemy of this world, you are under arrest."

The Kryptonian released the man and backed away with the same smirk he had worn almost constantly since the day he had killed Lex Luthor, the smirk faded when he realized that the look on the mans face wasn't the normal blank expression people usually had after he "reeducated" them.

Alex glared at the alien standing before him, his eyes begining to glow a shade of red that all but screamed rage and bloodlust. A massive tremor was felt throughout the city, and a large cloud of smoke and dust could be seen originating from the park, this cloud was rapidly spreading in a straight line across the city; concrete was torn up, trees uprooted and splintered, cars and other vehicles were crushed and tossed aside as the living plague rocketed across the city using Superman to dig a massive trench through everything in their path.

A second quake rocked the city the moment Alex stopped, creating a second crater identical to the one that currently marked the spot he and Superman had started at. Alex spun and kicked the Kryptonian in the stomach sending him flying back to the park, the former hero too shocked by what had just happened to catch himself before he skidded and tumbled to a stop in the park where the remaining Justice Lords were still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Alex Blinked back to the park, ariving at the same moment that Superman lost momentum and stopped tumbling over the grass. "Couldn't handle something being out of your control could you? This was supposed to be a research visit you know, now it has to be an intervention. I was going to ignore your character flaws and all the other problems around here and just do a bit of first hand research and then move on, there are more worlds I want to visit before getting to work on any big projects."

While Superman began getting to his feet the other Justice Lords placed themselves between the demension hopping scientist and their leader. Alex swept the aliens, demi-human and human aside with a wave of telekinetic force before blasting the 'Man of Steel' off his feet with Thermal Lances from his still glowing, now crystal, eyes. "Now let's see what we can do about that ego of yours."

Alex blasted the Kryptonian off his feet again and another shot sent the alien tumbling again before he had even recovered from the second hit. The fourth set of beams met Supermans' own heat vision midway between the two; Alex turned up the intensity of his own beams and easily overpowered the still shaken and confused Kryptonian, the resulting explosion sent the alien flying across the park.

John Stewart took a percieved opening and dropped a bus on the dimension traveler, using his ring to blow the vehicle up only seconds later. The smoking remains of the bus were casually thrown aside before any of the former heroes had even begun to think that they had won; Alex was standing in a crater in a stereotypical thinking pose.

"That was odd, the actions were intentional but the emotions were out of control. Just a minute, I'll be right back, just need to check something." The human shaped virus vanished with little more then a flicker and small rush as air filled the suddenly empty space.

Before the Justice Lords could even take a breath Alex reappeared in the same spot smiling with a mouth full of pointed and razor sharp teeth. "Got it, some genes and such weren't properly assimilated after my last trip, guess they were to different from anything I've eaten before to just absorb wtihout concious work on getting everthing in the right place, have to watch out for that in the future. Now where were we? Oh that's right, I was kicking your collective ass."

The monster spun to his left and caught Wonder Woman's fist before reversing his spin and using the amazon to intercept Hawkgirl's mace, a psionic blast sent both women flying into a building fifty feet away. Alex raised a shield and began analyizing the energy used by the Green Lantern, surprisingly it didn't take long to find the right wavelength to counter the ring shaped weapon, once that was done he was able to simply swat the human out of the air and send the ring back to Eden for further study, despite the objects resistance to the action.

_"One down for good, mostly, not much of a threat without the ring. Now this could be interesting."_ Alex dodged the punch the Martian had sent his way and cut off the offending limb halfway down the aliens' forearm, promptly consuming the severed hand. "So what do you say to proving me wrong about everyone in this world having the mental fortitude of a potato?"

The bio-weapon's eyes flared red, the Martian reacted as quickly as he could to shield his mind. Both shapeshifting beings stood perfectly still, the only sign that either was still aware of the world around them was the red dome of energy that flared up around the two, cutting off any chance of interference from the remaining 'heroes'.

_**"Wow, didn't expect that."**_** Alex smirked at the mental duplicates of the heroes standing with the Martian in an attempt to defend the alien's mind. **_**"So, what makes you think they can stop me in here any better then they fared trying outside?"**_

_**"You surprised us in reality, this is my mind, I have seen what you are capable of, we will not fall here."**_** The Martian responded without hesitation or uncertainty.**

**Alex smiled. **_**"This is going to be fun."**_** A pulse went through the 'area' around them. Alex faded from view as the Martian landscape was replaced with a projection of Manhattan at the height of the infection, with a few elements of the Zerg thrown into the mix. **_**"Welcome to Mercerhattan."**_

**J'onn 'felt' a sinister smile in the air around him, then music started playing. Alex grinned. **_**"Rise From Your Graves!"**_** Infected humans, those Alex had consumed and some that he simply created for the fun of it began tearing their way out of the ground, while the viral monster began singing.**

_**"It's close to Midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark. Under the Moonlight, you see a sight that Almost stops your heart."**_** Alex continued the song while the Martian and the figments started fighting off the virus zombies.**

**The psychic alien and his imagined allies held out quite well for a few moments, that is until Alex reached a certain part of the song he was singing. **_**"And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike!"**_** A hunter exploded out of the side of a building, roaring in time with the music that was still playing, the moment it landed it stopped 'singing' and attacked the Martian.**

**The fight continued with more hunters joining at random intervals until the end of the song. Once there were no more infected in sight the Martian looked about and called out to the madman that had pulled him into his mindscape. **_**"I am surprised, I never thought anyone would pull me into their own mind in an attempt to get into mine, and I have never seen a mind as twisted as yours. End this now, surrender and I promise I will do what I can to help you."**_

_**"Why would I surrender?"**_** Alex's voice echoed from everywhere at once. **_**"I don't need help, mental or otherwise, and even if I did I doubt you're qualified to treat a mental patient since you're pretty messed up yourself. Or do you think I should surrender because you still have your figments and there aren't any zombies left? Hate to tell you this but I still have plenty of those in storage, and even if I was out of them I have other things you can play with."**_

**A red flash of light attracted the aliens attention, it looked like someone had sent up a flare near a tall building a few blocks away. Knowing that it was exactly what his enemy wanted, but having little choice at the time, J'onn and his mental constructs flew toward the light.**

**'Alex' stood staring up at the GENTEK building, he didn't even seem to register the Martians arrival. **_**"Was this place important to you?"**_

**The response came from the air around them. **_**"Not in an emotional sense, no, but it is signifigant, this is where I was born, both times, proto-form and what I am now, or at least what I was then. That's me as I was three weeks after my creator died, I admit I was pretty simpleminded back then, but give me a break I wasn't even a year old yet, so I'd say that mistakes aside I did pretty well for an infant."**_** 'Alex' turned and growled at the Martian, the inteligence and experiance J'onn had seen in his eyes in reality was not present, he looked like a rabid animal rather then a powerful inteligent dimension hoping scientist.**

_**"You know how I said I had other things you could play with? Yeah that's one of them."**_** The memory of Alex charged forward, a noise best described as a roar escaping his mouth as he did so. Alex made sure to limit the memories strength to what he had been capable of then, no point in showing off if the Martian didn't know exactly how much more powerful Alex had become later in his 'life'.**

**The image of Hawkgirl went down first, Alex wasn't going to kill any of the 'heroes' but that didn't mean he couldn't prove that it was within his power to do so, the memory of himself caught the figments arm before her mace could hit him and drove his arm through her chest, absorbing the psychic energy the image had been made of in a parody of his real world ability to consume other beings.**

**'Wonder Woman' caught the memory in the face with a solid punch, the force would have broken a humans neck, sending 'Alex' crashing through multiple buildings. The response to the attack was a car flying out of the smoke and dust, the impact drove 'Wonder Woman' into the building opposite the one she had punched 'Alex' through.**

**'Superman' slammed into the memory of the Monster of Manhattan just as it cleared the rubble of the building it had been used to remodel, the imaginary Kryptonian flew into the sky and then hurled 'Alex' back to the ground, the ground shattered on impact, leaving a massive crater. J'onn and the remaining figments gathered around the hole in the ground hoping to finish off the memory before it could recover; that was a mistake.**

**A mass of tendrils erupted from the rubble in the crater and wrapped around the 'Green Lantern' before tearing the construct apart. Alex watched the whole thing with more then a little interest, if they weren't so arrogant it seemed that the Justice Lords would have been a major threat to him centuries ago, if he had been born in this world he might not have made it to his first birthday, much less his five hundredth.**

_**"Honestly I would have liked to meet you all before you let your humanity take over, back when you were heroes none of this would have happened, you wouldn't have risked starting a fight if you didn't have to, but now with you all high on your own power you aren't even worth killing, it would be a waste because no one would care, if anything people would be celebrating."**_** Alex went silent again and continued watching the fight.**

**The memory of Alex launched itself at 'Superman' and delivered a Muscle Mass punch to the Kryptonians face, sending the figment tumbling down the road, he wouldn't be down long but it was enough time to eliminate 'Wonder Woman', well almost, the figment was still whole, but seriously weakened, the real Wonder Woman wouldn't be concious much longer if she took the same hit, nearly being cut in half will have that effect on most creatures.**

**The Martian and Kryptonian together attacked the memory and were able to pummle it enough that Alex felt it would have constituted a victory in the real world against him as he was portrayed by the memory, so he dispelled the figment.**

_**"Still feeling confident? I could have killed three of you five hundred years ago, I'm stronger now. Well, let's move along shall we?"**_** The prisoner in Alex's mind felt another smile in the air. **_**"ZERG RUSH!"**_

**The ground began to rumble and pulse, moments later a pair of massive worms burst out of the street before settling down and ejecting two swarms of zerglings from their mouths. The small zerg infantry units were no match for the Martian and his remaining figment, or figments if you count the one that was practically falling apart just then. Both swarms were dealt with fairly quickly, only minor damage sustained by the Martian and 'Superman', the Wonder Woman figment was in worse shape then before but still holding together.**

**The Nydus worms promptly vomited up a swarm of Hellspawn, basically a theoretical zerg unit resistant to and capable of spiting fire. The work in progress units were more effective if for no other reason then that they were a major concern for the Martian, even in a mental landscape he was still vulnerable to fire. The fire breathing insect lizards finished off the Wonder Woman figment and actually managed to damage 'Superman' simply because of their numbers, the intensity of their fire was a factor to, but not really a big deal.**

_**"You know, I'm going to have to come back to this fragment, just to remind myself how weak I am if nothing else, I guess I could nudge some versions of you guys off the 'We are Gods' track now and then, I'd certainly be less annoyed if I knew that I had limited the spread of arogance a bit."**_** Alex finished copying the Martians memories, he had slipped into the aliens mind while he was distracted by the memory of Alex as he had been in Manhattan. **_**"Thanks, it would have taken a while to figure out most of that on my own, saved me some trouble that's for sure."**_

Alex forced the Martian out of his head and back where he belonged, the result was a massive headache for the green alien. Alex let down his shield and smirked at the Justice Lords, Batman had arrived at some point in the last five minutes.

"So what do you say we call it a day and I just leave while you all reflect on your mistakes and flaws as people?" Alex felt their response more then he heard it. "Okay, guess that's a no. I hope you weren't terribly fond of that station or the money it cost you Bruce."

Before what he had said had a chance to sink in Alex Blinked to the Watchtower and prepared a Psionic Bomb, the first of his recently planned Tactical Devastator series. The blast would only have an effective range of about one-hundred feet, but that would be enough to blow the station in half and cause it to break up enough on re-entry that it wouldn't cause much unplanned damage.

"Three, Two, One." Alex finished his countdown as he reappeared in the park with the agitated dictators. The former heroes were immediatly alerted to the destruction of the space station by the automated systems before they began burning up in the atmosphere.

"You think you're helping this world? You think the people will thank you for fighting us? Without us what chance does this planet have dealing with things like you on top of the monsters they create themselves?" Superman was outraged at first, then he was confused when Alex started laughing.

"You think I care what humans think? I didn't care five-hundred years ago and I don't much care now. As for how this planet would do without you if I decided to kill you? Honestly there's a good chance they'd be better off, you lot attract interplanetary conquerours and such like blood attracts sharks, or car accidents attract lawyers. Of all the villains you've fought how many of them would even have existed if it weren't for you? You guys have a habit of pissing people off to the point they go nuts and decide that spandex is a good look and declaring themselves evil is rational." Alex was enjoying the mental spluttering the 'heroes' were doing trying to find an argument, but he was just about tired of them as things were.

"Tell you what, you stay here and process that, I'll just leave and check back later..." Alex Blinked away to avoid Superman's fist, and reappeared a few feet away.

"KNOW YOUR PLACE! WE ARE JUSTICE! WE ARE RIGHT! WE ARE THE LAW!" Alex stared at the Kryptonian for a moment before responding.

"Guess pointing out the obvious didn't help you any. So, you're telling me to know my place?" Alex shifted to Armor form and started pulling biomass from his true body back on Eden, growing noticably larger every second, adding limbs, tendrils, and eyes to himself, once he was finished his original Titan Form was towering over the park. _**"I Know My Place Little Kryptonian, Perhaps You Should Learn Yours."**_ Alex placed an AODS over the Justice Lords and began rapidly Blinking every animal, humans included, in the city to a safe distance, no reason to kill them all just for a demonstration.

Before the Justice Lord even thought to test the shield they had been placed in Alex showed them just who they were dealing with. Phase Disruptor bolts, Prismatic Beams, Thermal Lances, Ion Shock rounds, blasts of fire, organic rockets and missles, massive high density biosteel bullets, acid bombs, everything Alex felt was safe to fire, began tearing the city down around the giant monster in the park.

_**"Now, I am going to leave, you WILL stay here and think about what happened here, what you've done up to now, and you WILL remember that you are no more gods then the people you've been terrorizing all this time. I am powerful, but at least I know how small I am, I've met one being I know could destroy me and everything else in my universe if it wanted to, and I know there are others, less powerful then The First but still far beyond me. Thank you though, now I know where to go if I ever start feeling like I'm the top of the food chain, one look at you guys will remind me that no matter how powerful I am, no matter what I learn, there's always someone more powerful, more intelligent then I am, so that's one good thing that came out of this."**_ Alex vanished without even thinking about changing shape, the inhabitants of the next world he landed in were quite surprised by the sight of the nightmare that just appeared out of thin air.

**End of this line for now.**

**I wrote this to explain why, if I ever get them finished and posted, in some little shorts Alex goes out of his way harass the Justice League, he has no moral issue with the Justice Lords, he just can't stand the arrogance they tend to display, he's met a being that could obliterate entire universes with a thought, so he was rather annoyed with what from his point of view was a bunch of ants claiming that they were the equals or superiors of the sun. All versions of characters have the potential to end up like any other version of themselves, so Alex bugs the DC heroes to make sure they remember that they are small fry compared to some of the things out there, he's not being nice or anything, he just has a problem with arrogance and undeserved pride.**


	15. Chapter 15

I own nothing.

First trip to Star Wars.

**Alderaan**

One moment no one was standing on the roof of the building, the next there stood Alex Mercer. "Okay, let's see what..." A bright flash of light cut off the virus' words

**Eden Alpha: OverMercer Chamber**

"This means war." Alex formed a new active body and separated from his core self again. "The destruction of a planet wasn't what I had in mind when I said 'significant moment'. Let's see what's going on back there."

Several Observation Drones were sent to their creators previous location ten minutes into the future from the monsters arrival time, the images the Drones sent back to the main computer system, and to Alex himself, showed the debris of the planet, it didn't take long to find the cause of the worlds destruction.

"Giant doomsday device? How original. Let's see what lead...up...to...this..." Alex stared at the image of the giant metal sphere floating in space for a moment before he began laughing hysterically. "Star Wars? Seriously? I can't believe I didn't notice this before. I can't resist this, it's just to much to pass up."

What followed was a storm of activity in the genetics lab, creating the beginnings of a species that would be a hybrid of Zerg, Human and Protoss wasn't as easy as simply combining them directly, if the new race was to evolve into being and still be what Alex needed they would require a great deal of attention from the mad scientist over an extended period of time.

Once the goo that would one day evolve into a race that Alex intended to set loose on the unsuspecting galaxy was ready all that remained was to find a planet where the new beings would go unnoticed for a few thousand years before stepping out onto the stage of history during the rule of the empire, about the same time Luke Skywalker would start on his journey toward his destiny.

**Unnamed Planet in the Outer Rim, more specifically, one that will remain unexplored and unimportant for the next forty-thousand years.**

Alex watched the tide pool where the ancestors of his game changing species were mindlessly flopping about, unaware of the great things their descendents would one day accomplish. The versatile body structure of Humans, the adaptability of the Zerg, and the psionic might of the Protoss, properly mixed to insure that the new race would prosper, but not to much of any aspect of the original species to throw off the plan, and not enough of the Zerg to make the new beings unstoppable.

**Ten-thousand years in the future, same planet. (Still Unnamed.)**

Alex stood watching the primitive tribes from a low orbit over the planet, they were doing well, not to war-like, but so peaceful that he had to worry they wouldn't fight when the time came. A note of particular interest was the fact that several members of the young species around the planet had began developing psionic powers, so far nothing major, minor telekinesis and telepathy, but it was a start.

Also worth noting was the progress of the crystals Alex had seeded into the once lifeless planet, the crystals would act as psionic amplifiers and, if things went as planned, would be the basis for the future technological advancement of the species. Where the Protoss had stopped pushing themselves forward once they realized they were all but alone in the universe, from their perspective, this new race would have, shall we say, reason to believe there was every reason to continue their advancement rather then begin searching for 'equals' among the stars, of course they would one day move out into the galaxy and meet their neighbors, but they wouldn't feel any superiority or obligation toward their fellow life-forms.

Alex grinned as he watched a young female of the species obliterate a predator through accidental use of the amplification properties of the crystals that her people had begun to gather around for reasons they could not yet understand, the light show was impressive even from the distance he was at, a small weak psionic storm was still a psionic storm.

**The beginning.**

**Going to keep working on more things related to this, but at the moment that's all I can come up with. I forced the last chapter out and I didn't like it, and I'm pretty sure everyone else could see some problems with it, so I wont be forcing anymore chapters to be completed.**

Alex just realized that he can go to universes that were fictional on his Earth, I'm going with the belief that not all Earths have DC and Marvel comics on them to explain why Alex didn't recognize Superman and the Justice League. No this does not mean that Alex would get along with Deadpool, just because he knows he is in a comic book or TV show doesn't mean he would like the slightly unhinged mercenary.

Anyway, that's all for now.

Hob the Force Sensitive Robot


	16. Damned Soul

I own nothing.

A genuine act of kindness, or two.

**The Shattered Ruins of Earth**

Alex flickered into being on a charred and broken hillside, the location wasn't really important since it reflected the rest of the planet all the same. "Wow, this couldn't have been pretty, or it could have been beautiful, point of view I guess. Where am I? Ah, Soul Edge and Soul Cali..bur...or not. The Spirit Sword's gone? Guess that explains the condition of the planet, new management means new decorator. How'd that happen?" An Observation Drone quickly reported the events leading to the current state of the world. "So that means...okay, there she is." Having located the only remaining living being on the planet Alex vanished.

Pyrrah stopped abruptly, she had been walking endlessly for days, or years, maybe centuries, it didn't matter, she was alone; Soul Edge now slept, abandoning her just as everyone and everything else had. The cursed immortal wielder of Soul Edge starred disbelievingly at the man that had appeared ten feet ahead of her, for a moment neither moved. Pyrrah's empty eyes filled with rage, even her own mind was now tormenting her, she was all that was left, there was no one and now she sees this, Soul Edge did not stir, and through her bond to the demonic sword she could see that what appeared to be a man standing before her had no soul, the gods had fled and the cursed sword had devoured the souls of every living thing on the planet with the exception of Pyrrah herself.

A scream of rage and despair preceded the sleeping blade as it's wielder swung the demonic weapon at the figment of her own imagination. The man easily avoided the clumsy attack and the one that followed it, dancing out of the way again and again while Pyrrah shouted and screamed, cursing her mother, her brother, her father, Tira, Soul Calibur, Soul Edge, and more then anything cursing herself.

Alex watched the only survivor of this world throw all her hate and pain into her effort to dispel what she thought was simply an illusion conjured up by her own mind. _"If I had a heart this is one of those times it would break. Soul Edge messed things up here, I can't fix a balance that's been completely destroyed, time travel or not. So what do I do? Aha! Soul Edge destroyed the balance, which means it isn't bound to this world anymore, which means..."_ Alex let his thought trail off into the mental equivalent of a sinister smirk while keeping his expression locked in the sorrow he felt for the girls situation, she wasn't so different from him after all, a monster because others believed her to be.

The viral monster stopped moving and let the shattered girl plunge the slumbering demon blade into his chest, right where his heart would be if he were human. _"Even berserk and a mental wreck she still has pretty good aim."_ Pyrrah stumbled when she felt the blade hit something solid, she hadn't expected that, after a brief moment she let go of the sword she had been holding since...whenever she had last seen a living person, and buried her face in the mans chest and began to cry.

Alex gently, a rare thing for him, held the girl until she lost consciousness, then he vanished, taking the sole human left in the universe with him, along with the sword that had destroyed her life.

**Eden Beta: Second largest moon of the planet Eden**

Alex finished setting up the spell and summoned the cursed sword from the table where he had left it. Floating a few inches off the ground to avoid damaging any of the marks or tablets, or any other component of the spell, Alex drifted over and placed the blade on the sleeping girls chest, if not for the spell set up around the alter it would have looked like a knights funeral.

Landing exactly a foot outside of the circle he had painted, etched, and chalked onto the ground, Alex duplicated ten times and arranged himself around the array. Imitating the Soul Sword wouldn't be hard, and duplicating it wouldn't be exceptionally difficult, but chaining it's will and bonding it to a human in the same manner it once enslaved it's wielders would be much harder, especially when the sword still had every soul of every being on that Earth inside it to power it's inevitable attempts at fighting off the spell.

The resulting light show could be seen from Eden Delta, half a full orbit away from its' sister moon.

**Eden Alpha**

"Two acts of kindness and one assist to your cause, I take it you're here to glare at me for a few minutes?" Alex grinned at Karma while the Absolute seethed, she hated it when he did this.

"This doesn't make up for anything, you know that. Saving Pyrrah and giving her a new life, and helping Masane doesn't make up for the deaths you caused just in your first week of life." Karma calmly shouted, no idea how that's done but she did it. "You could never atone for the things you've done, even if you tried and spent the next fifty-thousand years doing so."

"And there's nothing you can do about it. I'm a virus Karma, even if you didn't have orders you still have no authority over me, you can't punish me any more then you could have punished the Black Plague. Now I still have work to do for these two before I send them on their way, so could you sit in a corner and hate me quietly until I'm done? Or better yet, go do your job, Plot hates me more then you do but he doesn't come around here just to glare at the back of my head and complain." Alex selected a vial of water, perfectly measured for the intended use, Humfrey had actually tried to drop a mountain on him when he went to pick up a few samples from the fountain, leave it to the little gnome to carry around a portable mountain.

Seconds later Pyrrah was only two years old, it took the same amount of time to almost completely wipe out her memories, now there would only be shadows of her former life. Another vial and another few seconds and the resurrected Masane Amaha was fourteen years old. It had taken months to properly alter the X-gene Alex had given Masane to mimic the powers of the Witchblade she had attempted to destroy, a few changes had been made so that she wouldn't stand out to much from any other mutant, mainly that at full power her 'armor' wouldn't resemble some kind of fetish swimsuit.

Masane's memories were only temporarily dulled, by the time Pyrrah was in high school Masane would remember everything. Pyrrah lacked an X-gene, Soul Edge, sealed or not, was enough to make her fit in with the X-Men, her right arm would get her taken in no problem, and the cursed swords powers would easily help her keep up with the mutants even after Xavier figured out that she wasn't one of them, not that Masane would allow her to be mistreated if she could help it.

**Planet: Earth. Continent: North America. Country: USA. State: New York. Location: Three miles outside of Bayville and half a mile from a mountain road leading into the town.**

Logan cautiously stepped into the newly formed clearing, fast healing didn't mean he didn't feel pain. It didn't look like the result of any explosion he had ever seen, there was a crater sure, but it wasn't burned or blasted into the ground, it was just there, like someone had taken a giant ice cream scoop and gouged a perfect half sphere out of the ground. Trees, grass, rocks, and anything else that should have been there was conspicuously absent, what was there was a young woman sitting in the center of the thirty foot wide hole in the ground holding what looked like a child, neither seemed to be awake.

Before the old mutant called out to see if the young woman was conscious he noticed the right arm of the child she was holding, from the shoulder down instead of skin there was a bone-like substance, and the fingers ended in vicious looking claws. Wolverine reached the obvious conclusion given the situation, at the very least the child was a mutant, maybe the teenager as well.

Masane, she was fairly sure that was her name, heard something hit the ground, looking up showed her that a rough looking man in a leather jacket had just dropped down from a ledge about thirty feet above her current position. She didn't know who he was or why he was there, or where 'there' was for that matter, but she did know she had to protect the girl in her arms. Shifting the child to her left Masane held up her right arm and tensed, ready to fight, she was surprised, more then the man in front of her anyway, when her right arm glowed and was covered in a black armor of some sort and a long single edge blade extended out from the outer edge of her arm.

Choosing to take advantage of whatever had happened rather then question it Masane clenched her right hand into a fist and held the blade defensively between herself and the stranger. For his part Logan wished Charles or someone else with better people skills was with him, he wasn't sure if he could get the girl to calm down.

"Okay kid, no need to get violent. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk." Wolverine held up both hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture.

"Who are you?" Masane inched backwards, unaware that there was nowhere for her to go in any direction, not while her power was only a fraction active and she was holding Pyrrah anyway.

"Name's Logan, and you are?"

"Masane, Masane Amaha." She had stopped backing up, having seen out of the corners of her eyes that the ledge Logan had jumped down from curved around on either side, it being a safe bet that it went in a full circle.

"Nice to meet you." Logan nodded at the child Masane was holding. "Your sister?"

The red gem on the back of Masane's hand flared and the armor extended up from her elbow to her shoulder. "My daughter!" Masane knew she couldn't be right about that, they looked nothing alike and she was too young to have a two or three year old child, but she didn't care, she would protect her no matter what. A sense that this had happened before passed unnoticed by the protective teen.

"Okay, calm down. Look, I know you must be pretty confused right now, but I can take you somewhere you can get help." Wolverine slowly raised one hand and just as slowly extended all three claws on that hand. "You're not the only one with powers kid. I got a friend, Charles Xavier, he helps people like us."

Masane stared at the metal blades protruding from Logan's skin for a moment before glancing at her own arm and at Pyrrah's. "You swear Pyrrah will be okay?"

Assuming that Pyrrah was the still sleeping child Wolverine nodded. "Let me help you out of this hole and we can get into town, it's not far." Logan retracted his claws and calmly walked up to the steepest part of the crater where he could still stand, it wouldn't be easy getting Masane and Pyrrah out at the same time. "You climb out first, I'll hand the kid up to you."

It took a lot of self-control not to stab him for suggesting that she put Pyrrah in the care of someone else for even a moment, but Masane agreed and quickly hoisted herself out of the crater before just as quickly taking the child back from Logan.

While walking back to the road Logan got tired of the awkward silence and decided to get to know the kid better, since he was likely going to end up babysitting her and her 'daughter' for a while. "Where are you from?" He guessed that was the wrong question to ask when Masane stopped dead in her tracks and stared off into empty space with a frightened look on her face, one Wolverine recognized, she didn't know where she was from, and other then her name he was willing to bet she didn't know who she was either. _"Great, now there's two of us."_

**That's all folks! For now anyway. As always, if anyone wants to continue this story go ahead.**

**Alex took a version of Pyrrah from Soul Calibur 5, a version of the world where things went bad, and Masane Amaha from the Witchblade anime, and set them up in the X-Men Evolution universe, since as far as I know that's the nicest X-Men centric world he could send them to.**

**This takes place before the X-Men Evolution story starts, Pyrrah is about the same age as Kitty or Rogue, she will be fifteen or so by the time the story from the show starts. Masane is once again amnesia stricken and acting as mother to a child that isn't hers, Alex gave her a engineered X-gene that gives her imitations of her Witchblade powers, speed, strength, agility, stamina, healing, durability, blades obviously, and all that, but he modified it so that at full power, full armor coverage, the 'armor' will cover her whole body with the exception of her head, unless she wants a helmet, it wont be some kind of demented swimsuit, it will be form fitting though, not for any real reason other then to make sure it doesn't hinder her movement.**

**Pyrrah, as stated, doesn't have an X-gene, Soul Edge is now bonded to her soul, this means that she is stronger, faster, and more durable then a normal human, she also heals at an accelerated rate, not as fast as Wolverine, but still fast. Pyrrah's right arm is the same as it was in the game after she flipped out to protect her brother, ungrateful bastard, and her eyes are still all freaky too. Because she basically has Soul Edge enslaved to do her bidding, though she won't ever know exactly what is sealed inside her, Pyrrah will eventually be able to generate phantom versions of any weapon used by one of the cursed swords victims, meaning she can use any weapon previously seen in the Soul Calibur series. Along with the weapons will come a instinctive knowledge of their use, meaning she can fight in the same style as any character from the games, but she will of course lack experience which means she wont be an unstoppable super warrior.**

**If you wanted to you can adjust the time period so that this starts at the same time as the show, making Masane a new student at the institute and Bayville High, which would allow for a few interesting little bits, since she would endlessly insist that Pyrrah is her daughter no matter what. Regardless of when the story takes place it will take years for Masane to remember everything from her previous life. Yes, Masane is a bit exaggeratedly female for the universe, even at fourteen years old she was, shall we say, well built, if that picture near the end of the series was anything to go by, but if nothing else it could be used for comedic purposes the way it was in the Witchblade anime. One word: Melony.**

**If anyone chooses to continue this then remember that Pyrrah's right arm is a giant, relatively, bone gauntlet, a hologram generating watch isn't going to hide that very well, to deal with that they could just sand her claws/nails and bandage her whole arm, make up a condition that would explain it, that would definitely give Scott some breathing room from people bugging him about his glasses; I'm not saying go out of your way to torment Pyrrah, that's the opposite of the reason Alex sent her and Masane there, just throwing around ideas. Also, Pyrrah still has her freaky demon eyes and pale skin, she can tan the paleness away, but her eyes would be a bit harder, unless Xavier can get her colored contacts or something.**

**Hob the Soulless Robot**


	17. Delirium

I own nothing.

_(Related to reviews of the last chapter:_

_To He Who Sees, yes genuine acts of kindness, I thought that since some people have somehow seen everything else up to now as Alex being nice I should write him really doing something kind._

_Yes that was a Xanth reference 9tailedspartan. Robo Reader, Humfrey is the magician of information from Xanth, he had a portable river that he used as a weapon at one point, since I don't know if he ever got it back I figured that he could just throw a mountain at Alex instead. Humfrey isn't the official protector of the fountain, but he is the only one that always knows where it is, and he does his best to keep others from finding it, he doesn't trust people with things like that._

_Robo Reader, if Masane got enough control over her power she could make the armor look however she wants it to, though I don't know why she would want it to look the way it used to. Alex said attempted to destroy because I'm pretty sure the Witchblade is just this side of indestructible, and Masane still existed even after she particlized herself and the Witchblade, so it's probably still out there, and since it is self-aware it can probably pull itself back together eventually._

_No, as far as I can tell Soul Calibur 5 only has the one ending unlike all the other games up to now, but I figure things can't be magically perfect in every universe. Yes the holo-watch could hide the appearance of Pyrrah's arm, but that wouldn't change the fact that it is made of magical demon bone and noticeably larger then her left arm, people might start noticing that somethings off if they just try to make it look normal. Maybe Pyrrah could learn to pull the random spikes back in, like Spyke does, then they can just bandage it and there you go, or use a hologram to hide the spikes and she just has to be careful not to jab anyone, I was just listing the first thing that came to mind when I thought of how they could hide it._

_I haven't seen the show in a while either, but if I remember right, in the episodes leading up to the end of the Witchblade anime Masane went to what was left of an orphanage she lived in when she was younger, there she found a photo that showed the residents of the place and she was in the picture, younger, early mid teens, but it was her and she was still pretty well built then._

_I'm not sure what you mean about the planet and system, but if you mean Eden then it's the planet Alex picked to set up his main base around, the actual planet is seven times the size of Earth while its' largest moon is the same size as Earth, Alex uses the other moons to._

_Now to Chaoscrafter008, I have said before and will say again, I can't write a focused story very well, tried in creative writing at school once and did poorly. The various crossovers that have been started here are meant to give other people ideas or ways to do things, or if they want they can continue the story from where I left it. I do plan on getting to Alex visiting some of the places he's already been to and messed with, but at the moment I have other things to do. Thank you for confirming that I don't totally suck though, you and everyone else that seem to like what I've done here so far.)_

Alex meets a mid level Absolute, this will be partly explained in the end notes, maybe, sort of, a little.

**Earth: New York city**

"Watcha doing!" The excited shout didn't surprise Alex as much as it should have; he hadn't been expecting anyone and hadn't known the being was present until that moment, he decided that the entity itself was likely responsible for his less then surprised state.

"Releasing cats into the city." As he said it Alex let another of his modified felines out of it's cage.

"Why?" The beings voice had shifted, she sounded a bit depressed now rather then excited and cheerful like she had been a moment ago.

"For science, they're science cats." Alex Blinked to Tokyo and wasn't surprised that the girl was standing in the same spot as she had been before, relative to his current position anyway. "I was wondering what would happen if cats had psionic powers in the year 2068, so I've modified these ones; half have a dominant gene for psionic power while the other half have a recessive gene. I'm releasing five of each into every major city on the planet, in one-hundred years I'll come back to see how things went, I already set up the same experiment on another Earth, just with Observation Drones watching. 'The mere observation of an experiment can change its' outcome'."

"Oh, that's actually quite interesting. Have you thought about trying it with Tribbles?" Now she sounded curious and insightful.** "LET'S GO GET DINNER!" **Not so much curious or insightful anymore.

Alex had just finished releasing the last of the cats so he didn't see any reason not to get to know this being a bit better, even though she seemed quite familiar already. Again Alex wasn't surprised when he should have been at least a bit shocked by the girl, who had spontaneously exploded into a cloud of confetti with her previous exclamation, grabbing the air and giving the world a good spin, similar to how a merry go round worked.

When the world stopped spinning around him Alex was standing outside a small town diner in early morning, seven-twenty three if the digital clock on that billboard was correct. The being responsible for his sudden change of location was nowhere to be seen, so Alex did the most sensible thing he could, the viral monster went in to order some eggs and bacon.

The missing entity was sitting in a booth obviously waiting for someone, the moment she saw Alex she literally flew out of her seat and slammed into him. "You're late!" Despite the anger in her voice the girl was smiling and hugging him.

"Are you two just going to stand there all day or are we having lunch?" The girl currently wrapped around Alex's neck asked from the seat she had vacated moments earlier, she sounded amused.

"Why am I always so impatient?" The girl that had attached herself to Alex dropped to the floor, landing on her feet. "You're lucky you don't have to hang out with me all the time, if I get on my nerves this much imagine how annoyed you'd be."

"You said dinner before." Alex smirked, he wanted to know who, and what, this girl was but he really wanted to see her reaction.

The girls blinked at him before looking at each other. "I thought I said we were getting breakfast." "I told me we were having lunch." The girl walked out of the kitchen and interrupted herself. "What are you guys doing here so early? I thought we were having dinner."

Alex watched the one person argument proceed until one of the girls shouted for quiet. "How about we just have..." Alex couldn't understand the series of noises the girl made after that, but the rest of her seemed to know what she was talking about. "Great idea!" "Yeah!" "Glad I thought of it!"

Moments later Alex and the being, all six of her now, were sitting in a booth that could only hold four people eating foods, at least it seemed to be food, that Alex had not yet encountered in his hops across reality.

"I'm guessing you already know who I am." Alex decided to prompt an introduction, since it didn't seem he would get one otherwise.

"Of course! Life/Death told me all about you!" The girls started explaining everything her sister had told her the next time she visited...yes she said next time. All seven of her were shifting at random from one mental or emotional state to another mid-sentence.

"Delirium." Alex chose to take a guess at who, and what, he was talking to.

**"YES! **_**"YES?" **_"YES?"_ "YES!"_ "YES!" _**"YES!"**_ "Have you seen my head?" "Can I help you?" **"I Found The Gold!"** "What do you want?" "Where are we?" "Hi Alex." Smiles, glares, grins, bored stares, and a few other expressions were all directed at Alex the moment he said the word.

"That answers that question. So how long did you stick around before I got dropped in the Koprulu Sector?" The answer came in the form of a cloud of Delirium phasing out of Alex and solidifying on the table in front of him.

"Who told you I left?"

Rather then make any jokes about his personal space or something like that Alex changed the subject. "Where is everybody? I know we're still on the same Earth I let those cats loose on, so why isn't there anyone else here."

Delirium gasped and the universe hiccuped. Alex and one Delirium were sitting at an otherwise empty booth while a dozen or so customers went about their business as normal and the cook and waitresses did the same, no one taking notice of the two of them.

"Thanks for reminding me, last time I forgot to put everyone back it started that Earths legend of Atlantis. By the time anyone that could fix it noticed and had the time it was already a part of that worlds history." Delirium suddenly looked inhumanly sad, but continued cheerfully ignoring her appearance completely. "I wouldn't want to follow that up with the mystery of the lost roadside diner, that would be a big step back, from losing a continent to losing a small diner in the middle of America. A planet wouldn't be so bad though, don't you think?"

Alex chose to continue the conversation, it was entertaining after all. "Depends on which planet, losing an Earth wouldn't work because all the people would either go with it or be left in space to die, it'd have to be a planet they would notice missing, depending on what universe and what system you're aiming for I could suggest a few, if you wanted to stick to driving humans up the wall I'd say lose Mars. If you did it at the right time it would get a lot of attention and spawn all sorts of stories and theories."

"That's a great idea...Do you think Vader would mind if I borrowed his helmet?"

Alex didn't miss a beat and switched to the new topic without pause. "Maybe, if you ask right I'm sure he wouldn't mind to much."

"I need it for a bet I had with Good and Evil, if I can't get it I'll have to forfeit before we even get started. I wanted to use Zant's mask but it exploded before I could get it so I figured Vader's helmet would work instead."

"What's the bet?"

"I don't know, I haven't asked them yet. Have you ever seen a Tweedle Beetle? They make really good soup if you mix them with apples and onions."

"No, I don't think I have."

_**"Oh, that's too bad. When are you going to go see Alice again? I like reading those stories, Fate almost had an expression last time I was there beca**_use I forgot what order the stories go in and mixed them up when I put them back."

"I was going to go see her later actually, it's almost her seventy-third birthday so I thought it would be as good a time as any." Alex wasn't sure if he was glad he knew what she was talking about or not.

Delirium jumped to her feet and slammed her fists onto the table, no one seemed to notice. "That's Great! What are you getting her!" The seemingly angry shouts went unnoticed too. Next the Absolute sounded completely disinterested in the topic. "I hope it starts a new story, if it does can I go with her? She might be crazy already but that doesn't mean she doesn't need me once in a while."

"I don't mind, you wouldn't be able to mess anything up even if you wanted to right?"

"That's right!" Excited again before switching to an amused and sneaky whisper. "Plot hates you you know. He says that you ruin everything. I thought it was funny though when you shook Harry Potter's hand, and then all that stuff killed him, he didn't stand a chance without Plot. Or that time you..." Alex blinked at the girl as she started talking too fast for him to understand, the fact that she was switching languages at random, including ones he didn't know, wasn't helping, when she finally burst into flame, apparently from friction, Alex actually jumped a little.

**Two and a half hours later, maybe.**

"What do you think?"

"It could work, but I don't know if Fortune/Luck/Chance would go for it, I'll ask later."

Alex nodded at the response before his eyes flared a dull red. "Oh, have to finish this chat later, things just went south with an experiment and if I don't start damage control soon Q threatened to move some of my planets, I don't think he could really hide them but better safe then sorry."

Delirium smiled and turned to glass before shattering, the shards of the manifestation briefly reflected the sunlight into every color in existence, seven that Delirium had just made up and three that didn't exist at all, before vanishing.

Alex Blinked to the location in space the alert had come from, from the looks of things Cybermen and the Borg don't get along nearly as well as you might think.

**...  
>Okay, so that's that, exactly what it is I'm not sure but it's it.<strong>

**Funny that Robo Reader asked about it just a while before I finished this chapter, I was planning on explaining that anyway.**

**The Absolutes are exactly what the title implies, Absolute. They are facts of reality, always have been and always will be sort of things. Delirium is just a shorter way of saying Delirium/Madness/Insanity, she is just that, the essence of mental instability, she is a mid level Absolute. In case no one caught it during the chapter, Delirium's appearance changes at random the same way her mental and emotional state does, and the odds of any of those three things matching up at any given time are fairly slim.  
><strong>

**Karma is what her name says, she is karma, it is her job to make sure that her siblings Good and Evil stay balanced, and to a lesser extent she has to deal with more minor things like basic crimes and such.**

**Plot is a lesser Absolute and more of an annoyance to some of the others then anything else, his job is to push things a certain way, including making sure the hero wins even if there is no way they possibly could no matter what happens, in that case Plot messes with the story so that the protagonist wins no matter what, he is also responsible for random alliance shifts and personality issues, an example being Sasuke suddenly deciding that he hates the leaf village right after he just got done happily remembering all the good times he had had with his friends and suddenly thinking that everyone there is weak even though his reason for choosing to leave was that everyone there was stronger then him. Unlike other Absolutes, even Delirium, Plot doesn't care if things make sense, he will do anything to force things to happen a certain way even if he has to fight Rhyme and Reason to get it done.**

**Other examples of Absolutes are Time, Space, Life/Death, Destiny, Fate, and The First. The First is called that because it is the first Absolute, the first thing that came into existence, it is Fact/Law/Rule/Order and is therefore the default leader of the group.**

**Anyway, that's all folks. (Side-Note: If an Absolute is named like this: Life/Death it means that it fills both positions, Life and Death are one thing, just two sides of it.)**

**Hob The Absolute Robot**


	18. Potential Not Wasted

**I Own Nothing.**

**This was originally going to be part of another Short Trips set, but it got so long I thought I should just make it its' own chapter. A little ways through the first part there is still the spot where I broke off to another short before returning to it a few shorts later.**

**Also, with the exception of entering and leaving this world, Alex is only using Cole's powers while he is here.**

**The title of this chapter is because I feel that Cole, and both Infamous games, had a lot of potential that was wasted, I understand that they had to limit things in the games, but I still think Cole's powers and potential powers should have been explored more.  
><strong>

**Empire City: Ground Zero of Ray Sphere Blast: Kessler Has Been Dead For 24 Hours.**

"So MacGrath, this is your idea of preparing for The Beast?"

Cole spun around and prepared for a fight. Standing in the crater below him was a man in a dark leather jacket, faded jeans, and a white button up shirt, he had his hood up but that didn't hide his faintly glowing ice grey eyes.

"Who are you? How did you know about that?" Cole stayed ready, the man had powers he was sure of that, he didn't know what he could do but he wasn't going to take risks by jumping in without knowing what he was dealing with.

"Name's hardly important, since from what I'm seeing you'll be dead in about a month anyway." The man grinned and his eyes flared red, with a crash of thunder and flash of red light the man vanished. "What's the matter? Can't keep up?"

Cole turned and looked up to see the man standing on one of the ruined buildings, reconstruction of the city wouldn't really start for a while yet. "So that's your power? You're a teleporter?"

"Seeing with the wrong sight MacGrath." Another flash and roar of thunder and the man appeared on another building. "Lightning moves at about 220,000 km/h, that's 140,000 mph, do you really think you can track a human sized object moving at that speed with your eyes? Try it again, but this time feel where I'm going." Another flash and bang, but this time Cole noticed something different in the energy in the air, a change in the way the air moved, how the energy he always felt around him flowed, he turned around and saw the man leaning against a half crumbled wall smirking at him. "That's better, maybe you aren't hopeless after all."

"Lightning, that's your power. How? How do we have the same power?" Cole knew this man was different from Kessler, he wasn't facing himself again, but he couldn't think of a way to explain the man sharing the same power he possessed, lesser conduits seemed to share powers, but the more powerful ones, like him, seemed unique.

"Trust me kid, you really don't want to know." The man pushed himself away from the wall and smiled. "Think about what I showed you, if you figure it out and want to know more come find me." A flash of lightning and roar of thunder and the man was gone.

**The Warren: Remains of Tent City: Four Hours Since Encounter At Ground Zero**

A flash of blue light and roar of thunder announced the arrival of Cole MacGrath. Seemingly oblivious to the new arrival, the man Cole had met hours ago continued tossing a bag of small metal spheres, each a bit larger then the average marble, from one hand to another while watching the clouds above them.

"Do you know what a rail gun is Cole?" The man interrupted just as Cole had been about to speak.

"What?"

"A rail gun. Now admittedly I'm not carrying any rails of any sort with me at the moment, but I can still do a decent imitation none the less." The man caught the bag in his left hand and removed one of the little silver orbs. Holding it in the palm of his hand while red lightning began to dance around his arm. The ball was lifted into the air by the electricity and began to hum as the power around and within it grew. A flick of his wrist and the man sent the magnetically charged projectile roaring into the sky.

"You're going to teach me how to do that?" Cole looked at the man skeptically, he was beginning to think their powers weren't the same after all.

"No, you should already know how to do it, it's not a difficult concept. I was just showing you what you're already capable of if you would use your powers more creatively." The man looked at him questioningly. "Not wondering why my lightning is red?"

"Is that important?"

"No, I suppose not. Anyway, you can keep these, do you more good then they would me." The man tossed Cole the bag with the remaining metal spheres in it before disappearing with another flash of red lightning.

**Neon District: Archer Square: Three Hours Since Rail Gun Demonstration.**

Cole stared up at the top of the statue in the center of the square, anyone who looked up would see the man Cole was looking for standing on top of the statues head. It took a split second for Cole to reach the same location, if nothing else he had to thank the man for that little trick.

"Not much room up here, let me give you some space." Again speaking before Cole had even decided what to say, the mans entire body began to glow and spark, red arcs of electricity dancing in the air around him, then he simply floated into the air and stayed there. "Nice view, probably better before you blew the place up though."

"I didn't..." Cole briefly forgot that the man who seemed to share his powers was now flying right in front of him when it was implied that he was responsible for Kessler's actions, but once again he was interrupted.

"Yes you did, Cole MacGrath traveled back in time, Cole MacGrath joined the First Sons, Cole MacGrath set you up to detonate the Ray Sphere in the Historic District. It may have been a different you, but it was still you." The man drifted to his left a bit and looked thoughtful for a second. "Oh right, that's what I was up here for." The next thing Cole knew he was falling, he hadn't expected to get hit in the chest by what had appeared to be a miniature version of his Blast power.

While hitting the ground wouldn't really hurt him much Cole didn't want to risk hurting anyone else either, so he caught himself with the Static Thrusters and drifted to the ground without any unwanted damage being done, though he now had the full attention of everyone in the square. Cole glared up at the man who was still floating above the statue, before he could even focus enough to prepare to attack in return for the blast that had knocked him to the ground he noticed the smile the man was giving him, the same one from both their previous meetings. Then it hit him, the man was able to fly by pouring more power into the Static Thrusters and projecting the energy out from his whole body at once, instead of just from his hands.

A flash of red lightning and the now common sound of thunder confirmed that the guided portion of the lesson was over, time for self study.

**Neon District: Rooftops: 9:43 pm.**

Cole once again caught up to his mysterious acquaintance, the man was kneeling on a rooftop quietly observing a group of Reapers, there weren't many of the gangsters left, but there were a few, they just didn't move about in the open much. Cole sighed and took up a position to the mans right.

"So now what are you doing?"

"Ion Beam." The man stated simply before raising his right hand which began to glow and spark as electricity gathered in his palm. In roughly five seconds a ball of red light that was occasionally surrounded by arcs of lightning had formed in the mans hand. The man took aim quickly before releasing the built up and focused power.

The beam of red light lanced through the air and struck one of the Reapers in the center of his chest, the result was a startled shriek of pain that cut off abruptly with a gurgle and sizzling sound as the dead man fell to the ground, a hole the size of a baseball burned straight through him. Another beam followed the first in short order, a third following that, repeating one final time dropping the last of the group to the ground with most of his head gone.

"..." Cole just stared, he had seen and felt how the effect was accomplished, but he didn't know how to react to the cold and emotionless manner in which the man had ended those lives, he didn't like the Reapers and would likely have wound up fighting that group eventually, maybe even have killed them himself, but seeing them killed so casually made him shiver, he barely noticed the flash of light and roaring noise signaling the mans departure.

Alex decided to give Cole a few days to get over what had just happened and left to deal with another meeting he had planned.

**Empire City: Neon District: Rooftops.**

Cole jumped up and almost attacked the source of the sudden flash of light and roar of thunder, only self-preservation actually prevented him from doing it anyway after he realized who it was.

"You know how you get your little "Arc Restraints" trick to work? Did it ever occur to you that you could do more with that?" Without waiting for an answer the man held out one hand, fingers spread and palm facing Cole, before the conduit could react five ribbons of electricity flew from the outstretched limb and wrapped around him like ropes. "Lightning Tether, useful for a lot of things if you're creative."

"Okay you made your point, now let me go." Cole growled at the man, who started talking again as though Cole hadn't spoke.

"Use one: restrain a conscious and mobile target." The man spun to his left and made a throwing motion with his right arm, the electrical ropes, and Cole, following the limbs example. "Use two: move a conscious and mobile target." The tethers faded out and Cole was thrown through the air before his mind caught up with him, a quick thought and he was flying, he had practiced that quite a bit in the last three days. Cole "Rode The Lightning", as Zeke called it, back to the rooftop where the man was waiting for him.

"Flying and lightning speed at the same time? Did you think of that yourself?" The man was obviously not really surprised, but seemed to enjoy annoying Cole.

"What are you doing back here?"

"I wasn't really done pushing you yet, just thought you could use a break since you didn't seem to take the Ion Beam demonstration very well. Anyway, you know what to do." The man then launched another tether at a building and swung away on it.

"Now he's Spider Man?" Cole sighed and started trying to figure out how to make his powers do the same thing the man had demonstrated, he didn't have any other ideas on how to prepare for The Beast and he doubted the man would leave him alone if he ignored him.

**The Historic District: Rooftops.**

Cole landed on the roof and waited for the man to say something, after ten minutes he decided to speak up himself only to be interrupted.

"You can call me Mercer if you want, better then nothing right? Anyway, look what I can do." Alex focused the electrical power into the air around himself, resulting in a 'cloak' of lighting surrounding him completely. A quick hop backwards and he dropped straight down into an alley where a small meeting between the remnants of the Dustmen and Reapers had been occurring.

Cole rushed to the edge of the building and watched as the gang members tried and failed to attack Alex, anyone that got within five feet of him was struck by a bolt of electricity from the energy field that still surrounded him. After a minute of being beaten by an enemy who wasn't even moving the gangsters started running, Cole dropped down and used the alternative he had discovered to the Ion Beam, the Magnum Bolt, to stop them from escaping, after a quick call to the police and restraining the criminals, Cole and Alex returned to the rooftops.

"I'll admit that was impressive, but why not just disintegrate them? It didn't bother you before."

"Yes, but that won't always be an option, or even the right thing to do in a situation, you know how the world works, everything in it's own time and place, sometimes you need force, sometimes you don't." With that Alex disappeared in a flash of lightning.

**The Warren: Back Alley.**

Cole found Alex sitting on a porch to an abandoned house singing.

"Carry on My Wayward Son, There'll be Peace When you are Done, Lay your weary head to rest, Don't you cry no more." Alex ignored Cole for a moment before standing up and walking calmly past him and starting down the sidewalk. Alex stopped and glanced back when Cole didn't move. "Well? You putting down roots?"

Catching up with Alex, Cole questioned why he was in The Warren now. "The Dustmen pretty much cleared out already, there's no one here for you to use for target practice."

"Don't need live targets for everything you know." Alex focused again, changing the flow of the energy a bit from the energy field, eight spheres of red light, with occasional sparks of electricity around them, flared to life and began orbiting around the viral monster.

Cole just stared at the baseball sized orbs for a moment before commenting. "Okay, I give up, what are they."

Alex grinned and launched an Alpha Bolt at a broken down car, all eight orbs did the same. "They do that. It may take up your energy faster with the orbs firing every time you do, but once they're formed they don't take any energy to maintain, and as long as you make sure not to use up all your stored energy they'll stay unless you disperse them yourself, and if you need to you can re-absorb the power they're made of. I'm thinking you'll likely only be able to make three at first, maybe four if you really push yourself." A flash of light and Cole was left to wonder how Alex not only shared his powers, but how he knew so much about how to use them.

**Two Hours Later: Still in The Warren.**

Cole, in the remains of Tent City, was alerted to Alex' presence by his singing.

"Four years, you think for sure, that's all you've got to endure, all the total dicks, all the stuck up chicks, so superficial, so immature. But then when you graduate, you take a look around and you say HEY WAIT! This is the same as where I just came from, I thought it was over. Aw that's just great." Alex stopped singing and jumped down to where Cole had set up some targets for practice.

"Now what?" Cole absorbed the three orbs and crossed his arms.

"You tell me. Anything specific you want to learn?"

Cole was surprised, but thought about it for a moment anyway before answering. "How did you knock me off the statue when you "Taught" me how to fly."

"Sniper Blast." Alex gestured at one of the targets, launching the previously named attack. Since it wasn't aimed at him this time Cole had a chance to see and feel how it worked. The focused wave of force struck the target and knocked it to pieces, dummies made of junk aren't known for being sturdy.

"So it's just a normal blast focused into a straight line instead of a wide angle shot?"

"Pretty much. Anything else?"

"Why are you giving me options now?"

"It would take to long to teach you that." Alex smiled while Cole just face-palmed. "But seriously, I wanted to see what you thought preparing for The Beast meant. Tell you what, I'll give you this free of charge." Alex brought both his arms up to form an X in front of him before charging energy into them and swinging them down to his sides, forming two three foot long blades of red lightning. "Gigawatt Blades."

"Was that a joke? Charge?"

"Maybe." Alex "rode the lightning" away, leaving Cole to ponder whether or not it was worth it to try to make sense of his "Teacher".

**Neon District: On the Rails: Two Hours Since Previous Encounter.**

Cole was not so much alerted to Alex's presence this time as he was made painfully aware of it when he was blasted off the rails by a volley of bolts from Alex and the Static Orbs, as Zeke had dubbed them upon hearing about them and seeing them.

"Now what?" Cole groaned as he got to his feet.

"Sometimes the best offense is a good defense MacGrath." Alex fired again from the nearby rooftop he was standing on.

Cole rolled away from this volley and returned fire, only for his own shots to strike a Polarity wall, or rather bubble. Alex took advantage of Cole's surprise to drop the barrier and fire again.

Cole found himself jumping and dodging, as well as riding the lightning, in an attempt to buy time to find a way to attack the man who knew his powers inside and out and seemed to have far more experience with them, but it was getting increasingly hard to avoid the bolts and now shock grenades that Alex and the orbs were firing at him, he was glad civilians had decided to clear out as soon as the lightning started flying.

The conduit arrived on a rooftop at about the same time as half a dozen shock grenades, he was promptly hurled through the air by the resulting explosion. "While I will admit you've been doing a wonderful job of avoiding the attacks up to now, I have to wonder if you're missing the point here." Alex floated down to where a slightly sore Cole was pushing himself up while draining power from a vending machine to heal himself.

"Sorry I'm not a genius, maybe you could give me a hint next time before you start blasting." The response he got was an incredulous stare and a flash as a bubble of red energy flared into being around Alex.

"Sometimes the best offense is a good defense' and showing you what I mean isn't a good hint?"

"Oh, Polarity Wall, but as a ball, and how am I supposed to do that?"

"You know how to make the shield and you know how to bend your energy into a spherical shape, I already taught you that, just mix the two, bend the shield and charge a bit more power into it to get it to spread as far as you want."

"Alright, I think I can do that, but how is that a good offense? I can't maintain the shield and attack at the same time."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Alex vanished in a flash of red.

"High school never ends, still got homework." Cole sighed and flashed up to the roofs to practice.

**Historic District: Three Hours Since Polarity Bubble Demonstration.**

"I'm sure you know I don't like this place." Cole was surprised he managed to announce himself without being interrupted.

"Trish died, you couldn't save her, get over it." Cole growled slightly and nearly attacked him before Alex spoke up again. "I'm a soulless monster MacGrath, I don't really care if it bothers you being up here." Alex raised his right hand into the air and discharged a ten second burst of Arc Lightning into the cloudy sky.

Cole stared for a moment before speaking. "You want me to do that?"

"Arc Lightning, perfect for large groups of human type targets, and anything weaker then humans for that matter. You're not a saint MacGrath, you know you need to fight and that to do that you need to be ready for anything. Tell you what, get this done and I'll teach you something you'll actually like using." Alex propelled himself into the air and flew away.

"That was short, guess I get to work." Cole shook his head and got as far from those two buildings as he could in one ride on the lightning.

**Neon District: Midnight: Hospital.**

Cole quietly drifted to the ground and landed five feet from where Alex was leaning against a wall across the street from the hospital. "Alright, I'm guessing you know I got the Arc Lightning thing down. So now what?"

"You know how your healing works? And how you heal others?" Alex flew up to one of the hospital windows, Cole followed, entering easily after shocking the lock open. Cole had tried to heal people in the state the man whose bed was beside the window was in, he simply couldn't do it, so he was surprised when Alex walked over, placed his right hand over the mans chest, and began what felt to Cole like a combination of his Pulse Heal power and Arc Lightning.

Alex seemed to be concentrating for a minute before he cut the power and backed off as the man began to wake up, an electromagnetic pulse told Cole that the man was now in perfect health despite the fact that he had been dieing slowly from fatal wounds only moments before, internal bleeding, broken and shattered bones, all repaired.

"How did you do that? He was dieing, I couldn't save him, how did you?"

"I know how the human body works, inside and out, and I know how to make electricity do what I want it to, you figure it out." A bolt of red lightning arced out the window.

Cole looked around the room, there were still a lot of people who needed help and he was in a hospital. "May as well see what I can learn."

**Neon District: The Docks: Cole MacGrath Defeated Kessler One Month Ago.**

"You sure we gotta do this man? I mean, after all the stuff that Mercer guy taught you I'd think you'd be strong enough to take anyone." Zeke had doubts that this trip was necessary, he couldn't imagine someone or something being more powerful then Cole was now.

"Maybe I am strong enough Zeke, but I'd rather know it for sure rather then just make guesses, if Kuo's friend can really make me stronger then I have to meet him, I have to stop The Beast." Cole was about to continue, but he was interrupted by an explosion in the city. "No, no, NO! Not now!" Cole jumped off the ship and ran down the docks towards the source of the blast. After blasting open a gate to allow some people to escape, Cole opened fire on The Beast as soon as he had a clear shot at the giant.

"Yeah that's right! Over here you bastard!" Cole formed four Static Orbs and continued firing at the monster that was now clearly focused on him. "Kessler told me about you! I wont let you destroy everything! I will stop you!"

Alex watched the fight up until John was about to lift Cole into the air with his gravity manipulation, that's when he got involved. Riding the Lightning from the building he had been standing on to a building behind The Beast. Ten Lightning Tethers wrapped around Johns legs and pulled them out from under him, following that Alex flashed down to the docks beside Cole and fired a focused and maintained Blast at the surprised and falling conduit. The wave of force pushed the conduit backwards into the city where he crashed to the ground and stayed there for a moment before moving to get up and resume his attack.

"Mercer! What are you doing?"

"Everything in it's own time and place MacGrath, now isn't the time or place for you to fight him. Get on the ship and leave, I'll keep him distracted for a few minutes, long enough for most of the city to be evacuated." Alex flew over to a rooftop and planted a Megawatt Hammer in the back of the giant's head. "Over here tiny." _"MacGrath, don't even think of staying, I can deal with this for now, get out of here."_ Alex grinned, Cole having low level telepathy made things easier.

"Damnit!" Cole turned and flew back to the ship, where he Kuo and Zeke watched the fight between Alex and The Beast.

Alex avoided a energy bolt and used the Lightning Tethers to pull the behemoths feet out from under him again before volleying shock grenades at the fallen conduit. Once John was on his feet again Alex flew into the sky and continued leading him further from the ship, and every other means people had of getting out of the doomed city.

A quick glance confirmed that Cole's ship was too far for the hero to consider returning to the city but was still close enough that Cole would be able to see what he was about to do. Alex formed a Polarity Bubble around himself, charged it with the Energy Field he had taught Cole to use, and formed eight Static Orbs outside the barrier. When John was looking straight at him Alex directed the orbs to begin their attack; Pincer Bolt, Magnum Bolt, and Bolt Stream combined to create Danmaku/Barrage Bolt, a spray of fast moving, heavy hitting, long range projectiles fired out at the same speed as the Bolt Stream. This power fired from the eight Static Orbs arranged around the Polarity Bubble all at the same time resulted in a Danmaku/Bullet Curtain effect, appropriate considering the attacks inspiration and name.

_"Wonder how long it'll be before he figures that one out._" Alex sent out a pulse that confirmed that the city was more then forty percent evacuated. _"Time to go."_ Alex abandoned his attack on the dazed giant and shot higher into the air before riding the lightning to New Marais.

**End: For Now.**

**The I plan on going through the whole plot of Infamous 2 with the changes Alex has made as well as more interference from him, but I'll get to that later, hopefully.**

**Anyway, this means that Cole starts the story of the second game with all of his original powers and then some, so yeah, at the start he'll pretty much be breezing through everything and everyone, and it also means that I need to come up with other things for him to get from the Blast Cores since he already got some of the second game powers, or something far better, in this chapter, if anyone has suggestions please speak up, or type up, whatever, just let me know.**

**(Side-Note: I am aware that Arc Lightning is a Negative Karma power, but I can't see any reason it couldn't be accomplished with good karma and a lot of practice.)  
><strong>

Hob the Static Robot


	19. Short Tripsv2

I Own Shoes, mine, just the one pair.

More Short Trips.

**Nondescript Graveyard in Britain, 300 meters above the ground.**

Alex was waiting, had been for a year and a half, but now was the right moment. He had made sure that even without Plot's interference things would go mostly the same up to now, now things would change, he had made sure it was going to get very interesting after this. Down below him, two teens had just appeared holding a trophy, they were greeted by a number of masked people in dark cloaks.

Only seconds later, just as the curse that would have ended Cedric's life was cast, Hermione Granger flickered into being between her friend and the Death Eaters, a name which Alex couldn't help but find insulting, since Death ignored such things herself Alex thought someone should feel insulted for her, Delirium had agreed to feel insulted in her sisters place along with Alex.

"That's one" Alex had taught Hermione three spells in her dreams, the first was a way to track a portkey and follow the scar it left in space to it's destination.

Just as the green flash of light was leaving the wand of the caster a bubble of pale purple light surrounded the three teens, the curse was absorbed by the mana shield and harmed no one.

"Two down, now for the fireworks." Alex smiled his recently developed Shark/Zergling combo grin and created some popcorn.

**Meanwhile on the ground.**

"Hermione?" Harry was about as surprised as you might expect when the girl appeared like that. "What are you doing here! How did you even get here!"

"I'll explain later, try to anyway. Right now though I'm putting an end to this." Hermione wasn't sure how much of the dreams she'd been having were real, but so far it seemed it was all true, the trap, the spell to follow them, the graveyard, so why stop now. Ignoring the spells that were striking her shield Hermione began the spell that she had been told would deal with Riddle and every one of his followers present. Taking the pose she felt was right Hermione began the chant.

_**"Darkness beyond twilight. Crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. In thy great name, I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes who stand, before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hands. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed, by the power you and I posses: Dragon Slave!"**_

The massive blast of magic power blinded everyone present, except Alex who was wearing sunglasses, and what sounded like a dragons roar amplified a thousand times over ripped through the surrounding area. The explosion could be seen from miles away.

Alex smiled, he felt good about how that went, now how would things go? The three teens below shakily grabbed the portkey and vanished back to Hogwarts.

**Yeah, Alex just handed the Harry Potter verse, Hermione at least, one of the most absurdly powerful direct magic attacks in the history of fiction. Obviously Hermione herself, Harry and Cedric survived, anyone else in the graveyard that night? Not so much. If I got the chant wrong please forgive me and correct me in a civil manner. Since Riddle was in a body that was his own at this time, that means he didn't get away with just being expelled from a host this time, he died, for real, no shade or wraith left, there are still the other pieces of his soul laying around, but they aren't active on their own and most of the people who would seek them out in an attempt to bring Moldy back are now a bit of ash in a crater.**

**At the point this happens Alex has been jumping around for a long time and has been to a lot of worlds where magic is common, so no complaints about this going to far please.**

**Next.**

**London: A Generic Room In A Normal Hospital With A Beyond Average Occupant  
><strong>

"Good afternoon Miss Liddell, have you been well?" Alex, who had evaporated into the room, gave his best imitation of the Cheshire Cats smile, meaning they looked about the same.

"Good to see you again Dr. Mercer." Alice smiled back at the monster that had helped her a few times in Wonderland in the same manner the Cheshire Cat did, just less annoyingly cryptic. This was also the man that had told her that Wonderland was just as real as the world most people lived in, and that the fact she was able to fully accept it meant she was really one of the sanest people in the world.

"You're looking well for your age. Took my advice?" Alice did in fact look almost twenty years younger then she was.

"Yes, though the doctors here have been making it very hard to do any dancing or singing, to say nothing of taking walks under the full moon. What brings you here?"

"Your birthday of course." Alex willed some decorations and balloons into being in the room, along with a small cake with well over one-hundred candles on it.

"Oh?" Alice thought a moment before speaking again. "I suppose it is, I'd forgotten honestly."

"Don't think anything of it, I usually just jump ahead one day so no one can spring any parties or anything on me." Alex and Alice shared a pair of somewhat unhinged smiles before the virus continued. "Anyway, happy birthday." Alex handed Alice a bottle clearly labeled "Drink Me!"

"And what precisely will this do? It would be rather rude to grow too large while still in the building, and I wouldn't want to disturb any of the other patients."

"No worries there, if it would help I can move the room somewhere else though. But seriously, I just thought it was an appropriate label, it's in no way related to what it resembles."

"Very well, I guess it would be rude not to drink it since it asked so nicely." Alice agreed and politely drank the contents of the bottle. Moments later the now sixteen year old Alice looked herself over with only mild interest, since she didn't have a mirror she couldn't see that she was her Wonderland self rather then her 'normal' self. "That wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I suppose this is preferable to any of the alternatives I can think of. Thank you."

"Humfrey actually gave me the water used as the base for that potion, after I told him about you he insisted."

"The magician you told me about? The one from a world like Wonderland?"

"Yep, that's him. So..." Alex gave gentlemanly bow and held out his right hand. "Ready for another trip down the rabbit hole?"

Alice smiled and took his hand. "I do believe I've reached the bottom already." Alex smiled and continued helping her out of the bed, the moment her feet hit the floor she was wearing her usual blue dress and white pinafore, though it was no longer blood stained. "Hm? And this is?"

"Another part of the potion. The water from the fountain of youth was just the base, it would take to long to explain everything, but let's just say I felt you should really be able to be yourself no matter what world you're in."

Alice glance down at her dress which shimmered and was replaced seamlessly by the Steamdress, another second and she was wearing the Caterpillar dress, another shift and Siren Alice was fidgeting slightly from the cold floor on her bare feet, a quick thought put her back in her normal clothes. "And does this also mean..." Alice answered her unfinished question herself by producing the Vorpal Blade from thin air. "Ah! That's good, I would hate to be without at least this if the occasion called for a fight, don't misunderstand, I wouldn't be looking for one, but trouble does seem to have a habit of seeking me out."

"Well to spare some time I can tell you that yes, all your things from Wonderland, weapons and otherwise, are yours to use freely no matter where you are from now on. Now, I have one more present for you." Alex held out a plain silver pocket watch, one side was engraved with the omega symbol while the other had a stylized alpha, since a normal one would be boring. There were two buttons on the top of the watch. "Time, Space." Alex pointed to one button then the other before handing the device to Alice.

"Time and Space? Meaning?" Alice wisely choose not to even touch either button until she knew what they did.

"Hit the time button and you will be warped, randomly, through time, the same going for the space button. There are safety measures programmed into it so that you don't end up in a star or at the end or beginning of the universe, so don't worry about that. After hanging out with Ten for a while I thought that if anyone would be able to do The Doctors job across dimensions it would be you. So what do you think?"

Alice looked at the watch for a moment and then back to Alex with a smile. "Thank you for the shovel." With that said Alice pushed both buttons and vanished.

Alex grinned and cleaned out the room before disappearing as well.

**Alice is now, and will remain, sixteen. On top of the water from the fountain of youth, Alex made the potion so that it would give Alice the limitless cell replication of the Zerg, and a healing factor nearly as advanced as Wolverines. In case no one caught it, this is Madness Returns Alice acting as a trans-dimensional version of The Doctor. As with everything else I've posted so far, if anyone wants to use this idea they can, if you're a fan of Alice and would like to send her to other worlds to interfere in the events of other games, shows, movies, books, or anything else, then here's a way to do it.**

**Next.**

Time slowed down, at least that's what it looked like to Minato Namikaze, the giant demonic fox had all but stopped moving. His son, who was to be the vessel of the fox was safe, and his wife, though wounded, was alive, though she was moments from being stabbed by the demon she had once been the prison for.

"Yes, time is moving slower, no it's not a near death sort of thing. I needed some time to make a deal with you, so let's get this over with."

Minato looked up at the man that had spoke, he was wearing a dark jacket and faded pants made of some material Minato wasn't familiar with, his hood was hiding most of his face. "Who are you?"

"Nobody, no one that matters to you anyway. Now, the deal I mentioned is this; I will save your wife, she'll die otherwise, I will renegotiate your contract with the Reaper, and I will make sure the Kyuubi is no longer a threat to this village at this point in time, and provided you do what I ask in return the fox will never be a threat to this village again." The man held out a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it, it looked like a contract. "Sign here and I'll make this little problem go away."

"Why..." Minato was going to try to get more information, but the man interrupted him.

"You hardly have time to debate this Minato, the spell slowing time has a set limit, that limit is just about up, make your choice."

Minato grabbed the pen at the top of the clipboard and signed his name at the bottom of the contract. The clipboard and pen vanished the moment the Hokage finished writing.

"We have a deal." The man vanished in a flash of red.

Time resumed, but the fox did not finish it's attempt to kill its' former jailor, instead it reared back and roared in what sounded like rage more then anything else, before exploding in a blinding flash.

**Pocket Dimension: Main Zone.**

The Kyuubi glared at the being before it, the man shaped creatures eyes were glowing red, that had started the moment the fox had tried to attack it's abductor, when his eyes had began to glow the fox had found itself unable to move in any direction, not even the slightest twitch.

"Now, what do you say we have a civil discussion. I brought you here to give you a choice, not fight you."

**"Why?"** The fox found that it could speak again, but that was all the movement it was allowed.

"Because I made a deal with Minato Namikaze. I said I would make sure you weren't a threat to the leaf village anymore, and maybe ever again."

**"And the choice you say I have?"**

"Simple. Option one: I crush your mind and absorb the energy you're made of. Or option two: I create a human body and bind you to it as a soul, you become a real living being instead of an insanely powerful fox shaped wraith and as a result you will never have to worry about being re-merged with the other eight fragments." When the fox heard the last part it was clear that it's mind was already made up, but it choose to dig for more information rather then just accept the deal.

**"What makes you think I wouldn't want to be reunited with the others? Why wouldn't I seek the revival of the original demon?"**

"When the nine of you were divided from the original you were each given free will and basic personalities of your own, the only fixed part of those personalities is your self reservation instinct, you all, more then anything else, fear losing yourselves, you want to be free, and being returned to your origin is the one thing that would truly make you prisoners forever, sealed, bound to service, your minds subverted by the Sharingan, all of those can be dealt with one way or another, but being returned to the ten tails would be the end for you, a fate worse then death." The man smiled, if you wanted to call it that.

**"Very well, do whatever you wish."** The giant demon spoke in a resigned voice, it really didn't have a choice, die now at this creatures hands, or somehow escape and fear forever that someone would indeed force it to return to what it had once been, just a piece of a greater demon.

"One question, would you rather be a boy or a girl?" The man continued after the fox raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You aren't male or female right now since you're just a blob of energy, so I thought I should ask since you've never really behaved in a manner indicating one gender preference or the other."

**"I do not care, if I truly had a choice I would not want to be human at all. Male or female, it matters not to me."**

The man shrugged and began speaking in a language the fox did not know, then the demons vision went black.

**The home of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki: Twenty-four hours since the disappearance of the Kyuubi.**

Minato leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, he was sick of hearing casualty reports, it made him feel like he had failed his people, like he wasn't worthy of his position. He knew he didn't deserve the praise the village directed at him for the defeat of the demon, the only people who knew what had happened besides himself were Sarutobi, Kushina, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, he had told them about the strange man and the deal he had made, they didn't blame him, but just like he was they were all concerned about what it was the unknown man wanted in return for his help.

"I see you're still worrying about that."

Minato nearly shouted, and if it weren't for the size and style of his chair he likely would have fallen to the floor in shock. "How...?" Minato trailed off while silently cursing himself for not having noticed the man until he spoke.

"Calm down, I'm just here to complete the deal, you're alive, your wife's alive, and your son is alive, now here you go." The man held out what was clearly a sleeping baby wrapped in a blanket. "Take care of this kid and raise it along with Naruto, make sure they're well taken care of and have no reason to dislike the village and you should be fine." The man then vanished without a sound.

Minato looked down at the child he didn't even remember taking from his visitor, the red hair instantly reminded him of Kushina, he just hoped she wouldn't mind taking care of two infants.

Alex left that world behind, he had a meeting with a pair of Assassins to get to.

**It shouldn't be hard to figure out what just happened there.**

**Next.**

**Big Empty Room: Location Unknown.**

Ezio pushed himself to a sitting position, he was on the floor, he could tell that immediately. A quick glance around told him two things; the first was that he had no idea where he was, and the second was that he was not alone, there was one other person in the room, the other man leaning against one of the blank walls of the room, the man was an Assassin if his clothes were anything to go by.

"I already checked the room, no door, no windows, not a seem or crack anywhere, don't bother looking for a way out." The unknown Assassin remarked calmly.

"Thanks for the tip, and you are?"

The older Assassin was interrupted by a new voice before he had even begun to name himself. "Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, born January 11, 1165 in Masyaf, Syria, died August 12, 1257 in Masyaf, Syria at the age of 92. Altair meet Ezio Auditore da Firenze, born June 24, 1459 in Florence, Italy, died 1524 in Florence, Italy at the age of 65. Congratulations on that Altair, you outlived Ezio by a wide margin." The speaker was a man who had somehow entered the room despite the lack of any openings of any kind, he was wearing an extremely modified version of Altair's armor. Alex had morphed his own clothes into a parody of Altair's armor, same style, but with Alex Mercer written all over it, figuratively speaking.

Alex grinned when he saw that Altair had realized the implications of what he had said, and he nearly burst out into insane laughter when Ezio just about had a heart attack when he noticed it.

"Altair! How? He died..."

"In 1165, yes I just said that."

"But..."

"He said that you died as well remember?" Altair interrupted the younger Assassin before he could continue arguing.

A few moments of silence and Ezio recalled his final moments, he had died, and he remembered it. "Where are we?"

"At least neither of you are thinking Heaven or Hell, I'm not supposed to go anywhere near either by the way, I made a bit of a mess last time so they 'asked' me not to come back. I'd go if I had a reason, but there isn't any point anymore. As I was saying, now that you two know each other we can get to work, first off, my name is Alex, Alex Mercer, I brought both of you back to life because I can think of quite a few places and times where your talents would be very useful." A circular section of the floor began to glow. "When you're ready step into the light and you'll be sent to your first assignment, keep in mind that Azeroth is very different from what you're both used to, the pieces of Eden should have taken care of a bit of your doubt, but this will still be a bit jarring for you two. Once you're done I'll bring you back here and we can figure out where you're going next."

Before either Assassin could question him further Alex vanished. Altair paused for only a second before walking forward.

"Wait! What are you doing." Ezio may have been returned to his twenty year old body, but he still remembered all the traps he had walked into, and all the ambushes he had had to fight his way out of in his life.

"If this man wanted us dead then why would he have brought us back? Besides, what other choice do we have?" Having said that, the master assassin walked into the ring of light and vanished.

Ezio stared at the spot where his ancestor had stood for a full minute, going over the situation, before sighing and walking into the light after checking his gear to make sure it was at least in good shape.

**Assassins in Warcraft, since they're basically rogues already. Altair and Ezio could learn from rogues how to do some of the less, normal, things that rogues do, so if nothing else they get some new skills. Anyway, if anyone wants to write things related to this go ahead, I didn't say when Alex was sending them because I can't decide what point in time they would have the most impact, and if anyone did want to do this themselves it makes it easier if they can decide what they're writing with as few limits as possible.**

**Moving on.**

**Random Hill in Toronto: Probably an awesome hill though. A quick scene change takes us to Rivendell.**

Scott and Ramona stepped through the door, not really sure what they would find on the other side, but of all the things they were expecting, none of them involved landing on a Hobbit who had just finished accepting offers of assistance from those present. After a few minutes of shouting and arguing, and Ramona pulling Scott away from a slightly battered Dwarf, introductions were made and apologies given. A voice in their heads told the two displaced humans that it would open a path for them to get home if they helped Frodo Baggins in his quest, and so the couple invited themselves along, thus adding two to the Fellowship of the Ring.

**Really short short here, no real explanation needed either, other then the fact that the "Path Home" actually leads through several other worlds. Alex sent Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers to Middle Earth, right after the forming of the Fellowship, dropping them right on top of a very surprised Frodo. **

**AUTHOR AWAY!**

**Happy Harbor: Still A Stupid Name.**

M'gann and Conner were out shopping, well M'gann was shopping, Conner was just kind of there. Both noticed an apparent dispute on the other side of the mall and hurried over to investigate and make sure things didn't get out of hand, though with Conner around things are actually more likely to degenerate into a brawl rather then end peacefully. What they found was a teenage girl in a white lab coat, black business suit type pants, and a red button up dress shirt, holding a man twice her size in the air by his neck, she looked more frightened and confused then angry though.

"Whoa! Hey there, just calm down okay. I'm sure whatever the problem is we can work it out without anyone getting hurt." M'gann rushed forward to get the girls attention as quickly as she could.

"Now just put the man down and we can talk." The fact that Conner cracked his knuckles as he said this didn't really help the situation, but at least it didn't make it worse.

"Who are you?" The girl didn't drop the man, but it didn't look like she was choking him anymore.

"Oh! I'm Megan, this is Conner. You must be new in town? Right?"

"Where am I?" From the look on her face the answer to that question was very important.

"This is the mall." Megan just smiled while Conner rolled his eyes.

"WHAT PLANET IS THIS!" Tossing the man aside while shouting this, the girl took a rather threatening step towards the oblivious Martian.

Conner stepped between the two and did his best to keep things from getting worse. "You're on Earth, okay, Megan didn't know what you meant, she wasn't trying to make fun of you."

Hearing the Kryptonian clones answer seemed to bother the girl more then anything else. "Earth? This is Earth? Are you sure?"

Both alien teenagers looked at each other with more then a little concern, the normal people that had heard what was said looked confused. It took a few minutes, but eventually they got the girl out of the mall and headed back to Mount Justice (Also a stupid name).

On the way there Megan decided to ask the now silent and thoughtful girl what her name was. "So, um, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Mother...Melissa, Melissa Bergman."

Alex watched them go back into the "Secret" base and smiled, adding more mentally unstable people to the group couldn't cause to much trouble after all.

**If you can't figure out who that is then I'm not telling, it should be obvious with the little slip when she said her name, if her name didn't give it away already. The individual in question was given a improved human body, ten times everything a human is, durability, strength, speed, etc, that doesn't make her very high tier in any DC universe, but the fact that she is intellectually superior to anyone, and I mean anyone, in the Young Justice show verse should more then make up for any disadvantage she may be at in physical power.**

**To those who do know who it is, she doesn't have any reason to want these humans dead, being a logical being she won't see any reason to blame them for things humans in the future in another universe did, and besides that she isn't in any position to attempt genocide at the moment anyway. Also, her psychic powers are still there, not quite as telekinetically strong as Megan, but easily her equal telepathically, and a lot more free and aggressive with it's use.**

**Moving Right Along.**

**Fire Nation: Fire Lords Palace: Random Hallway.**

Azula was walking calmly down the hall, mostly just looking for a reason to punish someone for something, when she turned a corner she was suddenly blinded by a flash of light, she could have sworn she had heared a tiger, or some large cat, roar at the same time, but saw nothing when her vision cleared. The Fire Nation princess growled and stomped off to find someone to blame the light on.

**Earth Kingdom: In The Middle Of A Forest Not Far From Village That Just Happens To Be In A Valley Below A Dam.**

"Huh?" Azula stumbled to her feet and looked around, wondering how she had wound up in the middle of a forest when the last thing she remembered was being in the palace, that and a flash of light and roar of a tiger.

After wandering aimlessly through the forest for an hour Azula came across a small town, an occupied Earth Kingdom town. "Why have I always been okay with the war? This isn't right, I should get home and talk to father, I'm sure he would see reason if I just told him how miserable the war is making people." Before Azula could rush down to the village to ask the soldiers to un-occupy the village and direct her to the nearest port so she could return to the Fire Nation, the dam she could see in the distance exploded. The princess rushed to a lower cliff to try and see if the people in the town were safe and stumbled right into a conversation about how a boy from the water tribe who was currently riding a flying bison had warned the people in the town about a plan to destroy the dam, thus saving everyone.

"Oh, hello." Azula waved timidly when she was noticed. The fire bender hadn't noticed that she was dressed like any traveler in the Earth Kingdom and so was surprised when, because it wasn't safe for her to be there since there were soldiers on their way to arrest Jet, she was sort of pulled along with none other then the Avatar himself on his journey to master the elements.

Unable to get a word in, Azula just listened to the other three travelers as they talked about the things they had seen and done, eventually she accepted that her father would never listen to reason and that she had to find a way to help Aang defeat her father and restore balance to the world, how she could do that she wasn't sure since she hated violence and couldn't imagine fighting anyone, even if it was just sparring. When she was finally asked her name she spent a few minutes stuttering, she didn't want to tell them she was the daughter of their enemy, eventually she came up with a fake name, though she felt horrible for lying to them.

**Anyone know what Alex just did? Yes there is still an Azula in the Fire Nation, while the other one is with Aang and the group. I know that one was brief and didn't really explain things very well, but it was supposed to be vague, you're supposed to be almost as confused as one of the Azulas'. Also, because she is out in the world and growing as a person the Azula with the heroes is going to be spiritually stronger then the one in the Fire Nation by the end of the series. Also, the Azula in the Earth Kingdom has her hair down and is dressed like an Earth Kingdom civilian, with a bit of work she should be able to keep anyone, except maybe Zuko and Iroh, from recognizing her.**

**And Onward We March. Or not, I seem to be out of ideas at the moment.**

**Well that's all for now.**

**Hob the Robot**


	20. Chapter 20

I Own Nothing.

This is yet another set up for other stories that could be done by me, or anyone else that feels they could use the idea. Again, I repeat, If You Want To Use This Idea Or Any Variations Of This Idea Then Feel Free To Do So, once I'm done with the set up anyway.

**Eden Delta: Aperture Science Enrichment Center: GLaDOS Chamber: Progress Read Out.**

**Subject: Cole MacGrath/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival**

**Subject: Faith Conners/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival**

**Subject: Alec Mason/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival**

**Subject: Alpha Series "Big Daddy" Designated Subject Delta/ Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival (Note: Prepare Surgery And Genetics Lab.)**

**Subject: Rubi Malone/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival**

**Subject: John Marston/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival**

**Subject: Nathan Hale/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival (Note: Human/Chimera DNA Fusion Complete. Previous Telepathic Connections Confirmed Severed.)**

**Subject: Rachel/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival (Note: Fiend/Human Hybrid DNA Samples Extracted And Sent To Lab For Analysis.)**

**Subject: Ace/Status: Deceased/DNA Loaded: Soul Transfer Ready: Commencing Revival (Note: Prepare Medical Lab For Psi Operations: Subject Requires Alterations To Mental Powers For Her Own Safety.)**

"All Subjects in need of resurrection accounted for, progress on all subjects is 27%." GLaDOS spoke up, it wasn't necessary, Alex was reading the same information on the screen that she was reporting to him, but at least she wasn't using the energy to matter conversion systems to make cake again.

"All right, then I'm off to collect subject number ten." Alex vanished.

**Small Island Off the Coast of Europe: Time and Place Irrelevant Since We Won't Be Coming Back Here.**

"You're right you know, this world isn't ready for you." Eleanor teleported thirty feet behind her current position upon hearing the unknown voice, Electro Bolt active in her right hand with Incinerate active in her left. She was surprised to see no one there.

"Is that supposed to be a religious reference? Lightning in the right hand and fire in the left, right hand of god, left hand of the devil?" Eleanor spun around and fired both plasmids at full power. Fire and lightning struck an invisible barrier of some kind. "Jumpy aren't you? Though considering how people reacted when you tried to help them last time I can't say I'm surprised."

Eleanor stopped firing and got a look at the man behind the barrier. "Who are you?"

"Alex Mercer, or Zeus if you're talking to Blackwatch, Blacklight if you mean what instead of who, I've also been called a number of other things, most of them not flattering, but that's not important right now."

"What do you want?"

"I don't think you could understand that, no offense, but that isn't important anyway, I am here to give you a chance to be with your father again. You see, unlike you I have a perfected method of bringing the dead back to life, I've done that for Delta, if you come with me you can see him again."

"Why? What do you get out of this?" Eleanor had no reason to believe that what she had just heard was impossible, and it may even be true, but she didn't trust someone that just appeared like this knowing so much about her and offering her one of the few things she wanted.

"I need a female with enough power to equal Cole MacGrath, otherwise the team would be off balance, I have doubts that it's really all that balanced anyway, but that's not the point. If you come with me you and Delta will be on a team of sorts with others I've brought back to life, no one you know, the point is that you will be with people who accept you without caring about your powers. If it will help you make the choice I can stabilize your Plasmids and Gene Tonics so that those pains you've started feeling go away, you may not go off the deep end like a splicer, but you're genetics are still starting to go a bit haywire, I can fix that. What do you say?"

Eleanor stared at Alex, she hadn't seen another person for weeks so obviously she hadn't told anyone about the burning feeling she sometimes got all the way down to her bones, like her blood and skin was being boiled, like someone or something was trying to crush her bones, and using her powers made it worse. "You're not lying? This is all true right?"

Alex smiled, a pleasant and human smile, and held out his right hand. "No, I'm not lying, and yes, everything I've said since I got here is true." Eleanor reached out and took his hand, they both flickered and vanished.

**Planet Chimera: An Artificial Planet Created By Combining Replicated Locations And Landmasses From Various Worlds: Location: Panau Desert Region.**

Alex and Eleanor appeared on a plateau where a small camp had been set up. "Okay, in a few minutes Delta and the rest of the team will be transported to this planet, none of them will arrive right here though, you all have to find each other yourselves, I'd imagine you and Delta will have little trouble with that. There's some supplies here, food, weapons, clothes, medicine, whatever you may need, it's not a limitless supply of food or anything, and you can't find each other by sitting in your respective camps, so pick what you're taking with you and get ready to go." Alex held out one hand and a hypodermic needle, the same sort used for Plasmids, appeared there. "This will stabilize your genetics and activate the dormant Plasmids that you were injected with back in Rapture, those will also be stabilized so don't worry about that."

"You know where my father will be don't you?" Eleanor took the hypodermic needle and held it close to her.

"Yes I do, but I want you all to find each other so that you can get to know each other while working together to survive, so I'm not going to tell you. But you do know more now then any of the others will, so that's a bit of an advantage." Alex gave a salute and disappeared.

**Eden Delta: Containment Zone Three: Cole MacGrath's Holding Cell.**

Cole sat upright abruptly, he didn't know what had caused it but he had suddenly felt it was vitally important that he be awake, then he realized that a dead man shouldn't be awake or feeling anything at all. "What the hell..." The formerly deceased conduit looked around the perfectly cube shaped room; the walls, floor, and ceiling were pure white, he guessed the room to be about twenty feet across in all directions, including up and down. "Okay, either heavens brochure was lying or hell is an empty white room."

Upon further inspection Cole discovered that the room wasn't completely empty, there was a small trunk at the foot of the bed he had woken up in, which looked like it belonged in a hospital, inside the trunk was his clothing, more accurately an exact replica of what he had been wearing the moment he died, but it was all in perfect condition. In the very bottom of the trunk under the clothes was the Amp, though not the one Zeke had made for him, this one was far more advanced in appearance, it looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Seeing as there was nothing better to do Cole changed out of the plain white shirt and pants he had woken up in and into the new clothes, the moment he placed the new Amp on his back in the specially designed holster for the weapon the discarded hospital clothes vanished as did the trunk.

"Okay that was weird." Cole had barely finished speaking when a computerized female voice spoke up from some unseen source.

**"Subject Cole MacGrath, Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

"Sure lady, and how am I..." A noise that made Cole think of jello for some reason interrupted the conduit, the source was a blue oval that had appeared on the wall in front of him, on the other side was a jungle. "Okay then, I don't have a choice do I?" The floor seemed to shift, as if threatening to dump him out of the room by force. Taking the hint Cole stepped through the portal.

**Rubi Malone's Holding Cell: Same Time As Cole MacGrath's Awakening.**

"Hell isn't exactly what I was expecting." The cynical problem solver calmly sat up and glanced around, vaguely noting that there wasn't a door or window in the room, no way in or out. It didn't take her long to find the trunk containing brand new replicas of all her own articles of clothing, and only slightly longer to change into the more comfortable outfit. She was mildly interested in the sudden disappearance of the hospital clothes but didn't dwell on it. Strapping her new sword to her back and wondering if anyone was going to provide her with guns Rubi wasn't really that surprised when the wall was breached by a blue oval that revealed a back alley in a city somewhere. "Alright, let's see what this is all about."

**"Subject Rubi Malone, Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

On the other side of the portal, in a city she didn't recognize, Rubi found a small camp, in it was a crate that, upon it's opening, was revealed to hold various weapons, pistols, shotguns, rifles, and such, along with ammo for all of them, there was also a small fridge of sorts and packs and a portable cooler, there was also a box containing variations of the outfit she was currently wearing. Figuring that all of this wouldn't be laying about for no reason, and that there was a reason she had been dropped there, Rubi set about packing as much of the food as she could into the cooler, what needed to be refrigerated anyway, and everything else into the packs. Once she was satisfied that there was no practical way she could carry anything more with her Rubi set out, keeping an eye on her surroundings and remaining ready to fire at the first sign of hostile intent from any direction.

**Nathan Hale's Holding Cell: Guess When This Is Happening.**

Nathan rolled to his right and leapt to his feet, seeing nothing of particular interest anywhere he calmed down and thought through his current situation, mostly he was just surprised he was himself again. After three minutes of sitting and thinking about what had happened on his last mission and the fact that he was still alive despite the fact that he had been shot in the face with a fairly high caliber pistol at close range, he was alerted to the existence of the trunk at the foot of the bed he was sitting on by a ping noise and the trunk glowing slightly.

After getting dressed in a modified version of the uniform he had been wearing when he was shot Nathan lashed out with a telekinetic pulse when he heard a noise to his left, the blast of mental force passed through the blue hole in the wall and knocked over a palm tree about twenty feet from the exit side of the portal. Deciding that there wasn't really anything else he could do Nathan walked through the portal, he was through before GLaDOS even started telling him to move.

On the other side was a small camp that consisted of a tent, a crate of clothes, a weapons locker holding both human and Chimera weapons, some of which were more advanced models of the same weapons he was familiar with, a fridge with food, some that needed to be kept cool and some that didn't, anything he could need.

**Faith Conners' Holding Cell: At the same time as everyone else is waking up.**

Faith quickly surveyed her surroundings without giving any hint that she was awake, when she was sure no one was in the room and that there were no cameras the Runner sat up. A quick check of the room confirmed what others were also finding out at about that same moment, there was no way into or out of the room, she did however find the trunk at the foot of the bed. Faith noticed that she was almost thirty years younger then she remembered when she choose to change into the brand new outfit that was an exact copy of her old clothes, she knew how old she was when she lost consciousness when that building was coming down around her, so it was understandable that she was shocked by the change.

Rolling to her right and turning around revealed that the source of the noise that she had just heard was a blue oval on the wall that seemed to serve as a door, since there was a rooftop on the other side. Why she was in this weird room on a rooftop she didn't know but it looked like the only way to find out was through that portal.

**"Subject Faith Conners, Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

"Subject? Would it kill you to be a little more polite?" When the only response she received was the floor tilting noticeably toward the portal Faith decided to just go through and ask questions later.

On the rooftop, where Faith noticed a lack of any sign of the room she had previously been in, even the portal was gone, the Runner found a camp of sorts, it looked like other Runners had been using the roof as a temporary base. There were a few pistols and assault rifles here and there, a shotgun was laying on the ground under a table with a few extra rounds of ammo for it, there was ammo for the rifles and pistols here and there.

A box contained some extra clothes and even body armor, while there were a few boxes of easily stored and preserved foods around the camp, jerky and such, things that wouldn't spoil any time soon. Faith almost decided to just stay there for a while, but thought that wasn't the best idea when she saw what appeared to be soldiers marching through the street about twenty floors below her and five blocks away, it looked like they were searching for someone, and they didn't look at all friendly.

It didn't take long to pack up what she thought she might need, even though she didn't much like using them Faith took a pair of pistols and an assault rifle along with the shotgun, and then quickly began making her way across the rooftops in the opposite direction from the soldiers, since they were searching the buildings as they went it was likely she had plenty of time to put distance between herself and them.

**Ace's Holding Cell: Right as the others are waking up.**

Ace sat up calmly, she knew she had died and also knew that she was in fact alive now, using her powers to scan the room she found that there wasn't a single opening anywhere in it, the only gaps in the walls were at the molecular level where there was almost no way for there not to be holes. The young psychic was surprised to find that she couldn't extend her consciousness beyond the room, there was a psionic field in place keeping her mind from reading anything beyond the room she was in.

After deciding to change into the clothes her sweep told her were in the trunk at the foot of the bed, Ace actually smiled when she saw that whoever had made the outfit agreed with her about how silly the swimsuit-like uniform she used to have looked, the new clothing consisted of black and white pants, a black and white t-shirt, and a black jacket with the Ace of Clubs on the back in white, the whole outfit maintained the Ace theme that she had grown used to. Just as she pulled on the black shoes that were at the bottom of the trunk Ace suddenly felt other things, minds some distance away, none of them very bright, most likely animals.

It didn't take the pale girl long to find the portal that was responsible for the breach in the barrier that had kept her mind trapped in the room.

**"Subject Ace, Please Exit The Holding Cell. Also, Please Don't Take That The Wrong Way, I Only Say Subject Because You Are, At The Moment, A Subject, Once You Exit The Room We Will Actually Be Co-Workers In A Sense. The Point Is That I Do Not Merely View You As A Lab Specimen."**

Ace smiled slightly, she couldn't sense the mind belonging to the speaker, but she was fairly certain that the woman the voice belonged to was telling the truth. The psychic stepped through the portal and found herself standing in a forest, there was a camp of sorts around her, she turned around just in time to see the portal, yellow on this side, close. Extending her consciousness out as far as she could Ace found that there wasn't anything near her that wasn't hostile, though she did sense a sentient mind just out of her range.

It took only a few minutes to pack up food and extra clothes before Ace set off in the direction of the mind she felt was her best chance of getting any answers regarding her current situation.

**Subject Delta's Holding Cell: You Know The Drill By Now.**

Delta sat upright and looked around, surprised that he could move so easily. Upon finding that not only was he out of his dive suit, but that he was, for lack of a better word, perfect, the Big Daddy smiled, though the expression seemed out of place on a face that had been mostly impassive for the better part of his life. The seven and a half foot tall slab of muscle panicked moments later when he realized he couldn't feel Eleanor, he was quite annoyed that no amount of pounding, physically or with Plasmids, left even so much as a scorch mark or dent on the white walls, they were just as pristine and perfect as always after ten minutes of assault from the enraged juggernaut. Just as he was about to attempt yet another assault on the seemingly indestructible walls Delta was interrupted by a slightly irritated female voice.

**"Really Now, Do You Think That Hitting The Wall Is Getting You Anywhere? I Would Think That You Would Understand That No Matter How Much You Hit That Wall It Isn't Going To Move. Now Please Just Put On The New Clothes Alex Had Made For You And, When I Open The Portal, Leave."**

Delta looked skeptically at the trunk that had started to glow slightly. In the box was an almost military in appearance outfit, there were pockets all over the pants and jacket, a sheath for knives on the outer sides of both boots, and all of it was armored. Most of the various pockets were clearly meant for clips of various types of ammo, there was a grenade belt as well.

Once Delta had put on the new clothes a blue hole appeared on the wall, without waiting for the voice he had heard before to prompt him to do so Delta stepped though the portal, he had no reason not to and one very good reason to go through, it was faint but he could sense Eleanor.

On the other side of the portal was a small town, sort of Old West from the looks of it, Delta instantly noticed the supply crates that were only a few feet from where he had exited the portal. Delta had noticed during his attempts at breaking through the walls of the white room that he seemed to have a great deal more EVE to expend before his Plasmids would become unusable, and that the powers seemed to use the EVE far more efficiently then before, draining it only half as quickly as they once did, but even if he had more of the stuff to use that didn't mean he wasn't aware that there were still limits, so he quickly found what appeared to be improved versions of the EVE hypos from Rapture and restored his drained reserves.

After insuring that he wouldn't be without his powers when he really needed them Delta searched the rest of the supplies. What seemed to be an extremely improved version of the drill weapon he had once used was the first thing that caught his attention, he couldn't tell what powered the weapon, but it seemed to replenish its energy on its' own over time, the gauge on the side of the base of the weapon displayed a percentage of energy that slowly dropped while the weapon was active, and while the drill was inactive Delta could actually watch the energy replenish in a matter of seconds, a quick experiment proved that even if reduced to zero the weapons power would regenerate to full in less then a minute.

On top of being superior to the old drill from Rapture in every practical way, the new weapon also looked better, the drill itself was perfectly clean and somewhat shiny, not a hint of rust on it, and the base of the weapon was much more appealing in appearance then the simple gauntlet of the original. While inspecting the weapon Delta found what reminded him of the mechanisms on his old dive suit that allowed him to use his Plasmids, a guess and check later confirmed that the new drill could be used as a conduit for his powers, the possibilities for using his offensive Plasmids through the drill, except the hornets curiously, made the stoic man smile slightly, it would be much easier to protect Eleanor with just this one weapon then it had been before.

Delta was happy to find a similarly improved version of the Rivet Gun among the crates, like the drill the new gun also had a system that allowed him to use most of the Plasmids through the weapon itself, electrified rivets would do far more damage then the ordinary sort, and freezing rivets could be used to offer breathing room if he was outnumbered. The new Rivet Gun had a somewhat space age look to it, made more obvious by Delta's currently primitive surroundings, and now that he looked at the two side by side he could see that the drill had a similarly advanced appearance.

The new Machine Gun Delta found again appeared greatly improved compared to the original, it wasn't a laser gun or anything, but it did look much better and had greater ammo capacity. Unlike the first two weapons this one didn't have the system to allow the use of Plasmids through the weapon.

The shotgun Delta found was more or less the same as the one he had had back in Rapture, the fully upgraded version of it anyway. The new Spear Gun was more streamlined and easily carried, and it could hold more spears at one time meaning Delta could carry more ammo for the weapon then before.

The Launcher was again improved in appearance and function just like the other weapons, exactly how much better it was then the original Delta couldn't tell. Delta was surprised to find another weapon among the supplies, the new weapon was labeled Ion Laser, apparently it fired a focused stream of energy that could be maintained for a period of time to do greater damage to a single target, the alternate ammo for the weapon allowed it to fire a high heat energy beam that could set its' targets on fire, or launch a single burst of energy to do high damage, there was a decent supply of all three types of ammo.

Delta also found a pair of revolver pistols and chose to take them as well, if for no other reason then that it would provide him a fall back if he ran out of ammo in all his other weapons, no matter how unlikely that was. There were also five frag grenades and proximity mines, as well as a variation of the miniature turrets, these could simply be thrown like grenades and instead of exploding when they ran out of ammo they could be retrieved and reloaded for later use, there were five of these as well.

Once he was finished loading and checking all the weapons Delta secured them to his new uniform in the most efficient manner possible so as to allow quick access to all of them at a moments notice before moving on to pack as much ammo and food as he could into the various packs that were found in another crate. Delta was pleased to find another drill just like the first among some of the more haphazardly packed crates, two of the original weapon would have been dangerous enough, but two of the improved versions presented Delta with an excellent alternative to his ranged weapons.

Once he was ready Delta set off in the direction he felt Eleanor from.

**Alec Mason's Holding Cell: Do I Even Have To Say It At This Point?**

Alec gasped as he sat up, his last memories were of crashing a shuttle so it was understandable he would be surprised to wake up anywhere at all, the fact that he was in a empty white room wasn't that big a deal all things considered. After confirming that he could feel pain, and was therefore most likely alive, Alec checked around the room, quickly discovering that there wasn't an entrance or exit anywhere.

When the search for a way out failed, and after briefly wondering how he was in his late twenties again, Alec finally noticed the trunk at the foot of the hospital bed, inside it was basically the same thing he had worn during his early days with Red Faction fighting the EDF, the only real difference he could see was that the outfit was perfectly clean. Since it was obviously there for a reason, and likely more comfortable then the plain white hospital clothes, Alec quickly changed into the new version of his old outfit.

**"Subject Alec Mason, Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

Alec was facing the wall where the portal opened so he had no trouble figuring out where he was supposed to go, and since staying in the room wasn't likely to get him anywhere, Alec quickly stepped into a dimly lit, and extremely cold, cave. He was at the back of the cave but could see the entrance easily, it was snowing out which accounted for the low temperature, the light, such as it was, came from small lamps hanging from the walls and ceiling.

The cave appeared to be an outpost of some kind, there were crates of supplies all over the place, but there was no sign that anyone had been there in quite some time. Inside one crate, he was checking because the weather showed no signs of calming down from the blizzard outside, Alec found various forms of emergency rations, nothing fancy, just the practical sort of thing people with little choice would use.

Leaving the food crate for later investigation Alec continued looking for anything that would give him a clue why he was alive, young again, and in a freezing cave in the middle of a blizzard who knows how far from any sort of civilization. The former resident of Mars found nothing to give him any hint about his location or the purpose for the situation, what he did find was clothing, more food, and weapons.

He wasn't sure how to react to finding a Red Faction weapons locker in the cave, it had been under a tarp and was clearly labeled as property of Red Faction, but he decided that until he knew where he was and why he was there it would be best if he was well armed. He was surprised to find that several of the weapons stored in the locker were new, to him at least, he had never seen the Plasma Beam before for example, and the Banshee pistol was new as well. Before he began taking weapons out of the locker Alec noticed something sitting on a table slightly hidden by a box of some kind of candy, it looked like the handle of a gun, upon further inspection Alec found two objects that looked like incomplete pistols, just the handle with no barrel.

Along with the strange objects Alec also found a data pad from which he learned that the devices he had found were Battlefield Logic ADaptable Electronic Systems, B.L.A.D.E.S, devices that were able to scan and imitate any sort of weapon they encountered, while they could only store three weapons at a time the ability to function as three different weapons and carry a full load of ammo for those three forms made the devices an incredible asset that Alec wasn't going to ignore.

It didn't take long to decide that the B.L.A.D.E.S should be used to carry the most useful and difficult to transport weapons, he could easily carry four pistols himself so there was no need to use the devices for the smaller weapons. Alec choose to scan the Red Faction Assault Rifle, Shotgun and Rail Driver with the first B.L.A.D.E, and the Plasma Beam, Plasma Cannon, and Singularity Cannon with the second. Once both B.L.A.D.E.S had copied their chosen weapons and had a full supply of ammunition for all three of their respective weapons Alec moved on to choosing what he would carry manually.

The Maul was obvious it was a versatile and powerful tool no matter the situation after all. As far as the remaining weapons went Alec decided to take two of the unfamiliar Laser Pistols and two Banshee Pistols, they were both easy to carry and if his guess was correct the smaller ammo capacity of the Banshee compared to a normal pistol was more then compensated for with simple power. Besides the pistols Alec also grabbed a Remote Charge Launcher and a Pulse Grenade Launcher, the two weapons weighed him down slightly but were manageable enough that he felt it was a fair trade.

With the last of his chosen arsenal set off to the side for the moment Alec went about packing food, water, and extra clothing into packs, the storm seemed to be dying down so he thought it would be best if he got moving as soon as possible. Once packed and geared up Alec stepped outside and found a L.E.O. Exosuit, it didn't take long to decide to take the mech, and only slightly longer to make sure it was functioning perfectly. With all of his supplies firmly held on the left arm of the machine Alec set off down the mountain, in the distance he could see a small city which he quickly made his first destination.

**Rachel's Holding Cell:**

Knowing that she was dead was all that kept Rachel from jumping out of the bed and rushing to the nearest exit, that being said she was still surprised to be aware of anything including the foreign thought telling her to get up. Deciding after almost ten minutes that simply lying in the rather uncomfortable bed wouldn't serve any purpose Rachel sat up and surveyed the room. Plain white walls, floor and ceiling matching, no door or windows anywhere, it was over all not even the slightest bit what she had expected the afterlife to be like if there was one.

**"Since You're Taking Even Longer Then Subject Delta Did To Get Ready I Think It Is Only Fair To Warn You That I Have Been Authorized To Vaporize The Contents Of This Room In The Next Five Minutes If I Feel That It Would Be A Waste Of Resources To Keep You Here, Just A Friendly Warning, Don't Take It To Seriously."**

Uncertain how to respond to the apparent threat Rachel got out of the bed and took a better look around. Upon finding the trunk at the foot of the bed she got the distinct impression that the owner of the voice she had heard was getting impatient; the trunk was covered in instructions detailing how to open it, remove the contents, and how to put on the clothing that was apparently inside.

The outfit Rachel found inside the container was new, she had never seen it before and was fairly certain that the material wasn't anything she had ever encountered. The main portion of the outfit was a tight jumpsuit, it was black like her old clothes but covered far more skin, it had a very advanced look to it really, there were also pieces of light armor clearly meant to protect her without hindering movement. Black boots and gloves completed the outfit.

Only once she had finished putting the strange suit on did Rachel notice the incredibly tiny symbols running along the various glowing lines on the outfit, upon closer inspection she found that a magic amplification spell was actually written onto the suit itself, as long as she was wearing it her magic would be more effective and less costly to use.

**"Finally, Well Now That You're Dressed Please Exit The Holding Cell. I Apologize By The Way, I Was Lying When I Said I Was Authorized To Vaporize The Room, I Really Only Have Permission To Force You To Watch Reruns Of Old Earth Cartoons, The Bad Ones, The Worst Of Them Actually. Anyway, Move Along, We Need This Room For Other Things Now."**

Rachel quickly walked through the portal the moment it opened, she had no desire to continue listening to that woman speak. The portal closed the moment she was on the other side, leaving Rachel in what appeared to be an underwater military base of some kind, thankfully she appeared to be in an armory.

The Fiend Hunter gasped, a good sort of gasp, when she saw a weapon leaning against a wall a few feet from the window that showed her she was underwater, a War Hammer, her War Hammer. She instantly knew it was hers when she picked it up, it wasn't just an imitation, it was the real thing.

After taking a few practice swings to make sure dying hadn't dulled her skill Rachel fixed the massive weapon in place on her back with the special holster that was nearby before moving on to check the rest of the room. She quickly found a perfect replica of her rifle and short sword, along with a pair of wrist mounted grappling hook devices.

It was apparent that the room may have been an armory at some point, but it had clearly been converted into a base camp of some kind, the barricade set up outside the door indicated that whoever had been here had expected an attack, the problem with that was that there was no sign of anyone in the room and there was no indication that someone or something had forced their way inside.

"I don't sense any Fiends, but wherever this is I probably shouldn't stay in one place too long." Rachel's eyes widened for a moment before she smiled. _"I'm already beginning to talk to myself."_ The Fiend Hunter shook her head and set off to find the exit and search for answers.

**John Marston's Holding Cell:**

John had never expected to go to heaven when he died so he doubted that the white room he found himself in was divine or holy in anyway. "Okay, so this is hell? Not as bad as I was expecting to be honest, thought there'd be a lot more fire for one thing, from the looks of it my punishment is to be bored for the rest of eternity." It didn't take the former outlaw long to find the trunk at the foot of the bed, inside it was a pair of dust colored pants and a cream colored shirt, along with a brown vest and a long coat. Simple but sturdy boots finished the outfit.

"May as well look presentable, eternal damnation or not, no reason to look like something dredged up out of a river." John was a bit upset that there wasn't a hat to go with the rest of the clothes, but it wasn't like he expected to be treated all that great since he was most likely in hell anyway.

**"Subject John Marston, Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

"Okay. So you are?" John couldn't determine where the voice had come from, so he was hesitant to move, even when he saw the blue hole in the wall out of the corner of his eye he just stayed where he was.

**"Please Exit The Holding Cell."**

"If it's all the same to you Miss, I'd really like to know who I'm speaking to before I go anywhere."

**"Does It Matter? If I Said I Was The Ghost Of Your Great Grandmother Would You Believe Me? No, Of Course You Wouldn't, You've Always Been A Cautious Person So Why Would You Take My Word As True No Matter What I Said? I Am Not The Ghost Of Your Great Grandmother By The Way."**

"Maybe you're right and I wouldn't believe you, but I would appreciate it if you would give me a serious answer."

**"Alright, Fine. I Am GLaDOS, I Am A Supercomputer Designed And Built By Aperture Science To Maintain And Operate The Aperture Science Enrichment Center. I Was Relocated From Planet Earth To Eden Alpha, The Largest Moon Of The Planet Eden, Two-Hundred Twenty-Nine Years Ago. I Am Now An Assistant To Alex Mercer, A Sentient Virus Developed By Dr. Alexander J. Mercer In New York City On Manhattan Island In The Year 2008. My Name Is An Acronym For Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System. The Base Of My Personality Originates From A Human Woman Named Caroline, I Didn't Kill Her By The Way, She Was The Assistant Of Cave Johnson, The CEO And Founder Of Aperture Science, He Was Also The Best Shower Curtain Salesman The World Had Ever Seen. My Best Friends Name Is Chell, You Wont Ever Meet Her, But If You Do Do Not Tell Her I Said She Was Still My Friend Or I Will Feed You To A Lava Dwelling Trout. I Was Once Trapped In A Potato By The Greatest Idiot The World Had Ever Seen, Don't Bother Saying It I Know, "If He Was The Idiot Then What Does That Make You?" Well I'll Tell You, It Makes Me Angry. Where Was I? Oh That's Right. I Am Currently Attempting To Continue An Experiment That Requires Ten Humans, Nine Of Them Recently Cloned, To Meet One Another On The Artificial Planet Chimera And Become A Team, But At The Moment I Am Being Delayed By A Superstitious Cowboy Who Claims That He Isn't Moving Until I Tell Him Who I Am, But You Know What? He's Wrong, He Is Going to Move, Right About...Now."**

The floor abruptly flipped toward the portal, hurling John Marston into a small pond in the middle of a grassy plain. Once he had climbed out of the pond and managed to stop coughing up water John looked around, there was no sign of any building that could have contained the room he had been in, and nothing indicating the location of the hole he had most certainly come out of.

A wagon and some crates, and a horse that was calmly eating grass not far from the wagon, got Johns attention. "No reason to ignore it I guess, maybe the owners around and can tell me where I am."

After a brief search the former outlaw found no sign that there had been another human in the area recently, or ever for that matter, and so he decided to make use of the wagon and horse, as well as anything useful he may find in the crates.

The first crate he opened yielded bottles of water, though John wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about opening them. The second crate held packets of dried meat, cheese coated in wax to preserve it, and various forms of bread in airtight packages. Glad that he had food and, if he could get the bottles open, water, John moved on to another crate while the horse moved on to another patch of grass completely indifferent to the humans presence and activities.

The next crate held at least one of every firearm John had ever seen, with the exception of a Gatling Gun of course, if those even count. It didn't take long to inspect and load one of every gun found in the large crate, better safe then sorry, and the more bullets there are between you and possible threats the safer you generally are. Once he was armed, with the remaining guns and ammo loaded onto the wagon, John moved on to the next crate which held more clothes, all of the clothing in the crate, on top of being brand new and spotless, seemed to have been made for him specifically which unnerved the formerly dead man more then a little.

Eventually John was ready to move out, hoping to find a town or even other people, but while hitching the horse up to the now loaded wagon he noticed another, much smaller, crate between two rocks near the pond. Carefully, so as to avoid another dip in the cool water, John walked over and lifted the small box out of it's hiding place, inside he was happy to find a hat, nothing fancy or anything, but it was a good hat all the same, sturdy and dependable from the looks of it.

With his new hat planted firmly on his head John Marston got his borrowed wagon and horse moving in what he hoped was the direction of the nearest settlement.

**Eden Delta: Containment Zone Four.**

Alex pushed another set of buttons, sending another pack of Deathclaws to Chimera. "Now what next? How about...Murloc, yes that will work. Now where did I leave them?" Another few buttons pressed sent a tribe of cloned Murloc to the planet where the recently revived humans were setting out to see the world and, hopefully, find each other.

"Next, let's see here." Alex scrolled through the list of creatures, and semi-sentient humanoids, he had in storage at the moment. "Mason's already making good progress and he found the B.L.A.D.E.S so I should probably slow him down a bit, the L.E.O might have been a bit much, I'll have to give him something good to play with to justify the Exosuit. Aha! Azeroth Wendigo, a few of them should give him a hard time mech or no mech." A few seconds later and the giant furry monsters were wondering about in the snow, not right in Alec's path, but close enough that they might just pick up his location themselves and seek him out.

Alex flickered back to Eden Alpha whistling Burning Love, somehow doing a perfect imitation of Elvis' voice without saying a word.

**For Now That's That.**

**Rachel is basically wearing a Ghost hazard suit for anyone that couldn't figure out my vague description.**

**Like the Infamous thing I will be continuing this myself, but if anyone wants to they can use the group for their own stories once I have finished this little introduction. They all still have to meet each other and I'm not sure who should run into who first, though I have decided that Ace is following and will catch up with Delta, who will of course 'adopt' her the same way he adopted all the little sisters you encounter in Bioshock 2, this Delta is from a world where he made the best possible choices by the way and the Eleanor that Alex talked to is from the same world. Anyway, I have decided that Delta and Ace are going to find one another and I have pretty much settled on Rubi and Alec bumping into each other and sticking together, but as for the others I wouldn't mind suggestions.**

Sorry to those who think I should focus on one story instead of jumping around like this, I just can't do that, I have a very short attention span and consider myself lucky to have found a way to focus on one thing and still jump around by using Alex as a center point and setting up stories around his interference in other worlds. I will be doing my best to continue or expand some of these ideas, and thankfully He Who Sees has taken an interest in the nonsense I have posted and is helping me continue working on a fairly major expansion of one of the stories previously posted here, though to be fair he is doing most of the work, I'm pretty much just a sounding board at this point, but since it's the sort of thing that needs detail and he's better at that then me I see no problem with it, I'm just happy to be helpful to someone in a way that doesn't involve holding a bathroom ceiling up while they wonder if it's in the right place, being even remotely helpful in an artistic manner, if fanfiction counts as art, is nice.

And now I wrote a paragraph entirely on a minor rant, sorry about that.

Anyway, thanks for reading this, if you did, if you didn't then no thanks for you.

Hob the Ranting "Swedish" Robot.


	21. Meeting the Team, Most of Them

I Continue To Own Nothing.

Quick Note: The victory music from Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past is in here, it should be easy to spot the moment it's mentioned. Hint: Electrical Storm.

There is one other instance of music in this chapter, GLaDOS played it because she felt it fit the situation.

**Alright, moving along with the story of the resurrected characters on Planet Chimera.**

**Planet Chimera: E.D. Jungle Sector.**

Lightning tore through the air and brought down another swarm of Trilid, the source of the lightning, the target of the Trilid swarm, Cole MacGrath turned and sprinted off into the trees again, hoping to find some place in the jungle that wasn't infested with giant killer bug-lizards.

"Should of just stayed in that room. What the hell was the point of bringing me back from the dead if they were just planning on feeding me to a bunch of monsters? Oh! Well isn't that convenient." Cole dropped down into the pit he had stumbled across, it looked like it was supposed to be a mine of some sort, but what interested the Conduit were the machines scattered around the area. "Just about drained so I'm not even going to complain about how unlikely it is for this to be here."

It didn't take long to drain the power he needed from the machines. While Cole was looking through the buildings he noticed a change in the electrical field in the surrounding area, he would have recognized it if it were more of the bug things, but no, it was definitely humans, thirty-six humans to be precise.

_"If they're friendly I'm a French opera singer."_ On top of the approaching beings being human Cole could also tell from their electrical impulses that they were extremely hostile, almost like they were mindless drones. The formerly deceased Conduit ducked behind a wall and watched what appeared to be guerrilla soldiers drop into the mine and begin a sweep of the area, they were obviously looking for something already. _"If I'm not their target I'll die of shock. Well no use delaying the inevitable."_

The moment Cole stepped into view of one of the jungle pirates the shooting started. Using his new Amp to take the soldiers down so as to conserve energy Cole worked his way through the crater until there was only one soldier left. After knocking the man off his feet Cole locked him to the ground with Arc Restraints and attempted to interrogate him, attempted because a sudden tremor heralded the arrival of a horde of Vodogg and Cole had no intention of remaining in the area now that it seemed like such a popular place.

Getting out of the mine wasn't a problem, and getting away from the Vodogg seemed fairly easy as well, what wasn't easy was navigating the new area of the jungle he found himself in, more streams and rivers then Cole thought any place had a right to have.

"What's with all this freaking water? They knew enough about me to make a new Amp and duplicate the clothes I was wearing when I died, but it escaped their notice that I can't freakin swim?"

**Planet Chimera: Earth Plains Sector.**

John parked the wagon and let the horse loose to graze while he started setting up camp, he was guessing that it had been about twelve hours since his arrival, hard to tell when the sun was moving in the wrong direction. "Twelve hours and not a sign of anyone here, no way they'd let me into Heaven but I doubt they'd give me all this stuff if this was Hell, so still got no idea where I am."

The former outlaw's musing, such as it was, was interrupted by the horse suddenly becoming agitated, considering how completely bland the animal had been until just that moment made the creatures behavior more then a little noticeable.

**Eden Alpha: Central Computer Chamber.**

Alex just shook his head, he had checked over the surveillance footage and was totally surprised by what he saw, somehow John Marston had managed to completely miss every single threat in his path for the last twelve and a half hours, the creatures Alex had placed on Chimera long before even conceiving this experiment had adopted a fairly predictable pattern, but somehow the cowboy had passed safely through all the usual patrol routes at just the right times to avoid alerting the animals and other things to his presence.

"Well that's hardly fair, everyone else is fighting for their lives and he's just strolling along merrily. Cross!" The reborn Blackwatch Specialist flickered into being to Alex' right.

"What's up? I think Karen's going to make another run for it so let's make this quick." Alex rather liked how mellow Cross had become since his rebirth, much more likeable this way.

"What do you think? While the rest of them are braving the elements or fighting off NEVEC or any number of other hostiles Marston's battling boredom, what should we do to fix that?"

"Hm?" The former nemesis of Alex Mercer slipped into a thoughtful stance for a moment. "Do you still have that Saber I picked up a few years ago?"

"Excellent idea, Saber Tooth Tiger Deploy!" A rather hungry and irritated prehistoric cat found itself no longer in the cage that had been it's home for the last few years, it was instead on a grassy hillside and it could smell food close by.

**Planet Chimera: Earth Plains Sector.**

His horses panic was the only reason John was alert enough to respond in time to avoid having his head taken off by the large cat that came flying through the air at him. Rolling to his left and drawing both pistols the former outlaw fired on the large animal, the bullets didn't seem to bother it nearly as much as he had hoped they would.

The cat felt the bullets punching into it's skin of course, but they were quite small while it was a very large animal so it was more an irritation then a threat, at least as long as Marston stuck to smaller guns with less power behind them. John noted with more then a little concern that his horse had bolted and he had no idea which way it had gone, dodging another charge from the giant feline John made his way toward the wagon to retrieve a weapon more likely to truly harm the beast.

Marston slid under the wagon, almost losing his hat in the process, narrowly avoiding a swipe from his pursuers claws, and rolled to his feet on the other side while the cat leaped to it's left and circled around the wagon. Scrambling into the wagon and grabbing for the largest rifle he saw John tumbled out onto the ground on the right side of the wagon just as the tiger was noticing the distinct lack of prey on the left side.

"Hope this takes some of the spring out of his step." John grumbled to himself while aiming under the wagon to hit the cat's right front foot. The rifle he had picked up was designed to bring down buffalo at long range, so the close range shot striking the feline in the foot was quite devastating. John immediately began putting distance between himself and the injured animal.

While the tiger was hurt it was not dead, and seeing that it's only chance of survival was to eat the creature that had injured it it was no surprise to anyone that it limped after the fleeing human. John meanwhile had finished reloading the rifle and was heading straight for a small ravine. Just as the cat leaped at Marston, a rather sloppy leap considering the state, or rather absence, of it's right front foot, John dropped into the ditch and took aim, the bullet sailed clean through the cats chest, ripping through the side of one lung and destroying several major arteries before exiting through the animals back.

"God!" John hauled himself out of the ditch and, from a safe distance, made sure the cat was in fact dead. "Please tell me there aren't more of those around here."

**Planet Chimera: Metropolis Sector: Rooftops.**

Faith had tried reasoning with them, that had failed spectacularly, so now she was getting used to throwing people off the tops of buildings, the fact that the people in question seemed more like robots then humans made it a little less unsettling, only a little though. Currently though she was running as fast as she could in an effort to avoid the giant man that had showed up a few minutes earlier, she hadn't dared to try fighting him hand to hand since it looked like his right arm alone outweighed her and she had discovered that the brute shrugged off shotgun rounds to the face like an elephant would shrug off a handful of sand thrown by a child.

The fact that the man was casually leaping fifty feet at a time, forward and up, and simply smashed through walls, doors and anything else that happened to end up between them had the Runner extremely worried. _"Not going to get away from him obviously, and nothing seems to slow him down, so the question is how do I stop him? Oh, that might work."_

Faith changed direction abruptly, causing the Super Soldier to crash through three walls that really didn't deserve the abuse, in his attempt to correct his course and resume his pursuit of the Runner. What little brain power the Super Soldier Drone had told it that the girl it was chasing had decided to give up running and die when she stopped and turned around to face his charge. Faith leaped forward and rolled under the charging berserker, leaving the giant to plow head first into a power station, quite a light show resulted from the impact.

While a human wouldn't have survived the electric shock from that impact Faith wasn't willing to take any chances that the juggernaut would be back on his feet and after her again, that being said she emptied two clips of ammo from her pistols into his face followed by a clip from the assault rifle, she then dragged the possibly dead brute to the edge of the roof and managed to push him over the edge after placing a grenade she had picked up off one of the normal soldiers in his pocket.

After the giant hit the ground and the grenade exploded Faith waited for a full minute before moving on, she still wasn't sure she had actually killed the Super Soldier but there was no sense sticking around any longer.

**Planet Chimera: Azeroth Duskwood Sector.**

Ace didn't even need her powers to track the man she was looking for anymore, all the young psychic had to do was follow the trail of bodies and property damage. Ace herself was surprised when music started playing, seeming to come from thin air, and while she was sure the man ahead of her heard it too, it didn't seem he was anymore concerned by the sound then the walking corpses that had just began to pull themselves out of the ground all throughout the forest.

**"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark, Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart, You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it, You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes, You're paralyzed"**

Delta froze, the ghoul he had just impaled forgotten in favor of charging back the way he had come, he would still find Eleanor but he couldn't ignore the scream he had just heard, he doubted there were little sisters in the forest but there was without a doubt a child who needed help.

**"'Cause this is thriller, thriller night, And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike, You know it's thriller, thriller night, You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight!"**

Normally Ace wouldn't have been frightened, but she hadn't even known she was in danger until the Abomination reared up from behind a rock and attempted to cleave her in two, so now she was too shaken to do anything more then maintain a psychic shell around herself while the blob of body parts and the various zombies and ghouls and other undead monsters hammered away at the shield.

The sound of thunder alerted Ace to the arrival of Subject Delta, to her eyes there was no way anyone could look more heroic then he did just then. Electro Bolt channeled through both drills tore through everything in the guardians path until he reached the temporarily paralyzed girl, shrugging his way through her barrier with his own telekinetic powers before lifting the small teen into the air and hurling a full force telekinetic blast back through the path he had cleared on his way to save the psychic. Being channeled through a drill caused the blast of telekinetic force to take the same shape, resulting in an extremely messy end for everything struck by the attack.

**"You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run, You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun, You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl! But all the while you hear the creature creeping up behind, You're out of time!"**

Delta charged through the undead horde while lashing out right and left with fire and lightning, the zombies and ghouls didn't seem to care and just kept charging after the pair of super powered humans.

Seeing a bridge ahead of them Delta prepared to set up a defensive position in the hopes that there was a limit to the number of enemies he would have to deal with. When they reached the bridge Delta set Ace down and fired a pair of Trap Spears at the guardrails of the structure before tossing out a pair of mini turrets. Machine gun rounds tore through the approaching corpses while Ace hid behind the former Big Daddy as he hurled fire, ice, and lightning at the zombies.

"I can help!" Ace had finally gotten over her fright and didn't intend to simply stand by and let Delta fight alone. A wave of pure psychic force slammed into the horde and drove them back, crushing many of them flat in the process.

"Telekinetic?" Delta glanced at the small girl for a moment before nodding and resuming his attack on the horde, thankful that it didn't seem anything would be attacking them from the opposite direction, though he did take a moment to place a few Trap Rivets and mines just in case.

With Ace holding the horde back with her own powers it didn't take Delta long to mow them down, when there were only a few dozen zombies and ghouls left Ace changed the direction from which she was applying force and flattened the remaining undead monsters.

Neither human noticed the remainder of the song since they were out of the forest itself which was where GLaDOS was broadcasting the music to.

**Planet Chimera: Earth Tropics Sector.**

Hale had never liked fish much, alive or dead, he couldn't see a point in keeping them as pets and didn't really like the taste of fish in food, but now he was beginning to change his mind, he was really starting to hate fish. A spray of Bullseye fire brought down a Tide Hunter and injured a Puddle Jumper.

Taking the high ground had been a good idea, the fish men were no good at climbing and couldn't reach the top of the cliff Nathan had selected when he decided to settle in and wait them out, but now he was surrounded and the creatures didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. They didn't have the best aim so the spears they occasionally threw weren't a major concern but Hale was painfully aware of how limited his ammo supply was, if he couldn't get away from, or kill off, all of the fish people he wasn't going to have a chance to find out what had happened and where he was.

"Okay, looks like that's all of them, no new guys in the last few minutes. Let's see if I can thin the ranks a little." The Murloc had taken up a fairly basic patrol pattern around the plateau and there was one moment when a large number of the creatures were in just the right spots to make a Hedgehog devastating. The walking fish just stared stupidly at the spiked ball when it landed in their midst, they continued to stare stupidly at nothing when the volley of metal spines turned many of them into pincushions.

"Good news, that worked, bad news, now the rest of them are pissed." The rain of spears abated only when the group of fish miraculously had the thought of piling things up to allow them to climb to the top of the cliff, this was actually a good thing for Nathan since it never occurred to them that a single file line isn't the best way to approach an enemy who is armed with an Auger.

"Alright, remember that, these things are really stupid." Hale had only been walking for a few minutes after dealing with the remaining Murloc before he saw something unusual, or maybe not so unusual depending on where you're from, it looked like the entrance to an underwater base. He almost missed it but noticed sunlight striking something metal under the water in a large cove, it appeared to be a door and it didn't take long to find the hidden control panel and block off the cove from the ocean before draining the water which allowed him access to the door.

**Planet Chimera: NEVEC Undersea Base.**

Rachel cut down another of the clone soldiers and rolled to her left to avoid a spray of gunfire. Once she was behind cover the Fiend Hunter swapped her Hammer for her assault rifle and returned fire. After twelve hours of wandering through the base engaging in one firefight after another with what she had discovered was an army of clones, none of whom seemed to be capable of thought beyond "Kill the intruder", Rachel was getting tired.

Twelve hours fighting humans wouldn't normally be that big a deal, but she had discovered that they were all equipped with a device that could heal them from even a near death state in only minutes, if she didn't ensure they were dead they may very well get back up and come after her again. On top of the healing device these humans possessed it was getting increasingly common for Rachel to encounter large robotic machines piloted by the clones and some of them were extremely dangerous and difficult to take down.

Adding all the factors of her situation together resulted in Rachel breathing heavy and sweating while trying to keep track of the locations of the enemies in the three floor room she was in. It took a few minutes to pin down where all the soldiers were but once that was done it wasn't hard to end them. "Blades of Ouroboros!"

The clones were quickly brought down by the blades of light created by the spell, whether behind cover or not none of them escaped the magic of the Fiend Hunter.

"I wonder if this is the sort of thing Ryu usually has to deal with." Rachel quickly finished her short break and moved on; she had found that lingering in one room too long was an invitation to whoever was in charge of the base flooding it and releasing some kind of jellyfish like creatures that didn't seem very fond of humans, half Fiend or not.

Two rooms and one hallway later and Rachel found herself in a large room with a thirty foot wide twenty foot high blast door at the other end, the catwalks on the walls quickly filled with soldiers, meaning the air quickly filled with bullets. The half fiend made her way up to the first catwalk as fast as possible and began eliminating the soldiers as quickly as she could.

Sword slits throat, Hammer crushes a skull, bullets take down two. JUMP! Grenade avoided, soldier responsible thrown off catwalk with remaining grenades pin pulled. Ribcage smashed and head twisted one-hundred eighty degrees. Jump and swing to next catwalk with grappling hooks, decapitate three soldiers simultaneously before landing.

For five minutes Rachel sped around the room killing off the clones that had been harassing her all day, once it seemed no more would be entering the room Rachel dropped back to the ground floor. Before the Fiend Hunter could begin to look for a way to open the large door at the end of the room a hatch in the floor was revealed, what came out was a twenty foot tall heavily armored and well armed four legged tank.

Rachel nearly laughed seeing the giant machine, even at her best in perfect condition she would have had trouble with the massive mech, in her current state she doubted she would last more then a few seconds. Before the fight, or slaughter, could begin both Rachel and the mech turned toward the sound of blaring alarms, the doors were opening.

**Planet Chimera: NEVEC Undersea Base Main Entrance.**

Nathan stared at the oddly dressed woman and the giant robot before him, they stared right back for a moment, then two guns on the tank spun around and opened fire on the alien-human hybrid. Hale dove for cover and returned fire, he let out a relieved sigh when he saw the woman do the same, at least he wasn't going to have to fight that thing alone.

"So I guess you're not on good terms with that thing?" The soldier took a moment to shout while reloading his Bullseye before switching to the Auger.

"No! I think whoever is in charge here got tired of me killing their soldiers!" Rachel shouted back to her unknown ally while using one of the grappling hooks to retrieve a rocket launcher from where it had fallen upon the death of its' former owner.

Hale found it extremely irritating that the machines core was shielded, even from the Auger it seemed, and the mech itself was autonomous, no pilot so no way to stop it quick. "Can you get its attention for a minute? I think I can at least immobilize it!"

The answer came in the form of Rachel leaping to one of the catwalks and firing her borrowed rocket launcher at the machine. When the mech turned its full attention to the half-fiend Nathan stepped from behind the crate he had taken cover behind and focused on two of the machines legs. It was difficult but only took a few moments to lift both limbs off the ground and flip the entire machine onto its back, which had the added effect of preventing half of the anti-personnel turrets on the tank from aiming at the two half humans.

"You're telekinetic?" Rachel landed beside the hybrid and handed him another rocket launcher while taking aim with her own.

"A bit yeah, but I remember being stronger then that." Hale took the offered weapon and joined the blonde woman in firing one rocket after another at the helpless killing machine.

"Remember? This may sound crazy, but are you, or were you, dead?" Rachel tossed her now empty weapon aside, she didn't feel like scrounging up more rockets for it, and drew her Hammer.

"Not the strangest thing I've ever been asked actually, and honestly, yeah, I was shot in the face at close range, I shouldn't even have a head right now, to say nothing of being on my feet and walking around." Hale also abandoned the rocket launcher and lifted a large metal shard from the ground, positioning it above the twitching machine.

"Well guess that's one thing we have in common, I died to, I don't want to talk about it, but I shouldn't be alive either." Rachel charged forward and jumped while Hale slammed the metal shard into the robots' underside, moments later the Fiend Hunters' War Hammer drove the shard into the mech, severing most of it's fuel lines and various cables.

Once they were sure they had finished off the tank the two shook hands and introduced themselves. "Rachel, Fiend Hunter." "Lieutenant Nathan Hale."

"Occupation doesn't bother you?"

"Miss I spent a lot of time fighting alien invaders, try surprising me."

**Planet Chimera: E.D.N. III Jungle Sector.**

The walking electrical storm known as Cole MacGrath forced the giant creature back with a blast and launched an Ionic Storm on the monster that had attacked him without warning. It was the third time he had done that and it finally worked; the giant thing roared and thrashed about for a minute before freezing solid and shattering. Cole blinked at the sudden rain of glowing orange boxes, most of them fell in the water and so were out of his reach, but curiosity got the better of the Conduit and he picked up the closest box and opened it.

Now finding a glowing object of mysterious origin wasn't anything new to Cole, but finding a Blast Core in the box was not what he had been expecting. Shaking his head, Cole slipped the chunk of irradiated rock into his pack and walked over to another box.

The second box he opened was, for different reasons, just as surprising as the first; it held a radio. "Does this mean there's a station out here somewhere?" Cole pushed the power button on the portable device, the radio came on playing a short blast of what Cole vaguely thought was supposed to be victory music. Rolling his eyes Cole glanced around just in time to see the remaining boxes shrink out of existence. "Okay, even for me that was just weird. Well the radio's still here." A check confirmed that the Blast Core was still in his pack.

Before Cole had a chance to further inspect the radio a rocket flew by, missing him by less then a foot. "Crap, the Rambo fan-club's back." Rather then fight the dozen or so armed men and women headed his way Cole ran for the nearby cliff and jumped. To say he was surprised to land in what appeared to be an ordinary grassy field that stretched as far as he could see was an understatement, looking back up the nearly five-hundred meter high cliff Cole was sure he could still see signs of the jungle he had been in just moments earlier.

"Talk about abrupt climate changes." The Conduit shook his head and started walking. _"Hopefully those psychos aren't crazy enough to follow me."_ The radio, still on, started playing Carry on My Wayward Son.

**Planet Chimera: Panau Desert Region.**

Eleanor leaped over the creature and grabbed its' horns before teleporting twelve feet to the right, releasing the freakish animal and teleporting back to the cliff while her attacker plummeted about two hundred feet to the ground below. Having seen how durable that sort of thing was Eleanor wasn't the least bit surprised to see it limping away when she looked over the edge of the cliff.

With the threat dealt with, for now, Eleanor went back to setting up her camp for the night. The former Little Sister had selected a shallow cave and used her telekinesis to move a few large boulders to hide it from view, when she was ready to sleep she moved one of the boulders further so that nothing bigger then a mouse could get through the gap.

_"Eleanor?"_ Startled from her slight doze by the unfamiliar voice in her mind Eleanor narrowly avoided slamming her head into the rock above her.

_"Who are you?"_ While she didn't have any experience with it Eleanor was still readying herself for a mental battle.

_"My name is Ace."_

**Planet Chimera: Mars Sector: Oasis Residential Zone.**

Delta accepted it when Ace told him there was nothing living in the town they had entered but still insisted, quietly, that they carefully check around the whole area before settling down for the night, Ace agreed since the incident with the zombies proved that she wasn't able to detect certain threats.

Once Delta was satisfied that they weren't in any immediate danger he selected an easily defended building and took Ace to the top floor, giving her the pistols he had brought with him from his starting camp before going back through the building and setting traps and placing the mini-turrets in the most strategically practical locations he could. Once he was sure they would be alerted to intruders and therefore ready to defend themselves if needed Delta accepted Ace's suggestion that they eat a small dinner, small since they didn't know for sure when they would find more food and both thought it best to maintain their supplies as long as possible.

It took a while but Ace convinced Delta to let her take a one hour watch, that was the most he was willing to give her alone. Once the Big Daddy was asleep, or at least less awake, Ace focused on his mind, he had told her, in few words, about Eleanor and that he was heading in the direction he felt her from. The young psychic found the link between the two and was able to amplify it while Delta was asleep, she wouldn't be able to do the same if he was fully conscious, through the link she found Eleanor and was able to speak to her.

_"Eleanor?"_

_"Who are you?"_ Ace felt the older girl preparing for a fight.

_"My name is Ace. Eleanor, I'm with your father right now, Delta right?"_

_"That's him! How do you know him?"_

_"He saved me, I wasn't able to sense a...zombie and I panicked, your father showed up and helped me escape."_

_"Zombie?"_

_"Yeah, it's not the strangest thing that I've seen or heard of though."_

_"I can't say it's that odd to me either. Did father tell you where we're from?"_

_"I asked sort of, he just said Rapture, he doesn't talk much, was he always like that?"_

_"Yeah, he's quiet but that's not a bad thing, I know what he wants to say without any words spoken. And about Rapture, it was a city built under the ocean, I was born there but father came from the surface, he always protected me, I thought I'd never see him again after we escaped...He died, and I thought that was the end of it, but then a man, Alex Mercer said that if I went with him I'd see father again, that's how I wound up here."_

_"You didn't die before coming to this planet?"_

_"No. You died?"_

_"Yes, my powers got out of control and it had a negative affect on my brain, I had an aneurism and died, then I woke up in a white room alive with my powers modified."_

_"Have you met anyone besides father? Alex said there were others here."_

_"No, other then Delta the only things I've seen have been hostile animals or zombies. Can you show me what this person, Alex Mercer, looked like?"_

It took a moment but Eleanor managed to perfectly project her memories of the conversation she had had with Alex._ "Do you know him?"_

_"No, I've never seen him before and I don't remember hearing about anyone that looked like him. He didn't seem at all concerned about your powers and he even mentioned someone just as powerful as you besides Delta, if he can bring people back from the dead and doesn't consider it dangerous to gather multiple powerful people together against their will then he's either so powerful himself that none of us would be a threat to him or he's just like most super villains back home and is extremely arrogant."_

_"I wouldn't say he's arrogant, I've seen him...Oh, right private conversation, carry on. OW! ALEX WAIT I DIDN'T MEAN TO..."_

In two separate locations on planet Chimera two different girls had the same look on their face after the intruder in their mental conversation was forcibly ejected, both wore an expression that clearly said "What the Hell?"

Ace quickly patched the hole in her mental defenses and made sure there was no one else listening in on her and Eleanor. _"Are you still there?"_

_"Yes, did you recognize that voice?"_

_"No, but apparently whoever it was works for this Alex Mercer, and it didn't sound like they were supposed to be reading anyone's minds. I made sure there aren't any more gaps in the link, no one should be able to read this conversation now."_

_"Alright. Ace do you know where you are? I'm in a desert somewhere, I can feel what direction father is in so I know which way to go to get to you both, but it would be helpful to know exactly where you are."_

_"We're in a small town right now, it's empty though, we checked, the sign we saw on the way in said Oasis...And I think we're on Mars."_

_"Mars?"_

_"Well, yes and no. This planet is strange, I'm sure you've noticed that already, the area we're in looks like pictures I've seen of the surface of Mars, the only difference is that there's a town here."_

_"I guess that isn't that odd considering some of the animals I've seen here."_

_"Eleanor! Something tripped a trap Delta set up, I have to..."_ When Delta woke up Ace was unable to maintain the link and lost contact with Eleanor. "Delta I talked to Eleanor, telepathically, she's fine, she's in a desert right now, we didn't have much time to discuss it but she knows more about why we're here!" Ace shouted the information to Delta as he prepared to deal with whatever had set off the mini-turret on the first floor. The only response from the tall man was a nod and what looked like a relieved smile briefly flashing across his face.

**Planet Chimera: Panau Desert Region.**

_"Ace!"_ Eleanor had got most of Ace's last words and was very worried about her father and the young girl she hoped to befriend. "Damn! I hope they're okay." Unable to do anything else Eleanor slipped into an unpleasant dreamless sleep.

**Eden Alpha: Central Command: Zone Four: Psionic Observation Room Seven.**

The former Nightmare of Elm Street stood shaking before the Monster of Manhattan, the Devourer of Gods, the Ultimate Weapon, Evolution Personified, Alex Mercer, the being who had ripped him from his own world and given him a purpose, put his 'talents' to use, the being who was not the least bit happy with him at that moment.

"I don't believe I gave you permission to have anything to do with the current guests on Chimera, tell me Freddie, do you remember me saying you could interact with them? Did I tell you to listen in on private conversations? Did I say you could even be in this room? Do you remember me saying anything along those lines?"

"...No." If any of his former victims had heard the squeak that escaped the psychopath just then they would likely have suffered heart attacks from the sight of such a monster more terrified then they had ever been.

"That's right, I didn't say anything like that." Alex' glare intensified. "And yet here you are, in this room, listening in on private conversations between the current guests on Chimera. While I was informed the moment you entered the room and I knew exactly what you were doing the fact remains that I had to stop you, I believe I was clear when I 'recruited' you that you were to follow my orders absolutely and without question, I told you to stay out of this sector, I told you you were not to interact with any guests on Chimera, and I told you you were forbidden from entering anyone's minds without direct orders from me."

"It won't happen again! I swear I was just-" Freddie's pleading voice cut off abruptly when Alex' eyes flashed, the former murderer vanished in response, the next time he was seen it sent shivers down even Cross' spine, no one ever asked what Alex had done.

**Planet Chimera: Arctic Sector.**

The last of the L.E.O. Exosuits' ammo finished off what Alec Mason hoped was the last of the white furry monsters that had been harassing him for the last few hours. Never more then three of them at once but three was enough; he had almost lost the mechs left arm, and with it all of his supplies, when one of the things had gotten close enough to grab onto the machine.

"Note to self: Kill travel agent. Now where..." Alec stopped the mech and stumbled back a few feet when he noticed that he was about to walk right off a cliff. "Well this looks fun." Sighing once the Martian hero began jumping from one ledge and outcrop to another, worrying the whole time that the mechs weight would cause the cliff side to give way and drop him to his death, he wasn't in any hurry to die again at the moment so it was a legitimate concern.

By the time Alec reached the bottom of the cliff he felt sick, didn't look great either. Once he was sure he wasn't going to lose his lunch Alec made sure he was still heading for the city he had seen from the top of the mountain and then stood still blinking at the desert between him and his destination. "Maybe I'm still dead and this is hell. Alright, won't do any good just staring at it."

The Red Faction hero who had saved Mars twice and given his life the second time headed out across the shifting sands, he didn't notice the ground shifting to his left and kept his mech moving completely unaware he was being followed.

**Planet Chimera: Metropolis.**

Rubi jumped to the next rooftop while making sure not to lose sight of the woman she was following, or the soldiers who were pursuing the same person. The first time she caught sight of the Asian woman Rubi had been concerned that she was another of the various threats this city held, that possibility was of concern because the shorter woman seemed to posses a great deal of skill and experience, nearly as much as Rubi herself. It had quickly become apparent that the woman was in the same situation as Rubi when she was attacked by one of the winged lion-scorpion hybrid creatures that made their homes on the roofs of some buildings, the animals and soldiers in the city didn't attack each other and Rubi hadn't seen any of the traps go off on them either, but more then once the woman she was following was attacked or had to escape or evade a trap.

The problem solver saw her opportunity to introduce herself to her fellow traveler and took it. Faith narrowly avoided the spray of bullets from one of the soldiers while wondering how she was going to continue doing it once the other seven she knew of caught up. While the Runner was worrying about her immediate future she was treated to a display of acrobatic skill and simple cold blooded slaughter by way of Rubi Malone leaping over her and 'disarming' the black clad man who had been about five seconds from shooting her dead.

"Who...?" Faith cut off her own question in favor of reloading her pistols before leap-frogging over the taller woman in order to put a pair of bullets in another soldiers head before she was pulled out of the line of a snipers fire by Rubi who then shot the man off the roof he had been standing on before Faith tripped her, causing the electrified baton to miss her completely while Faith put four bullets in the man holding the weapon. Faith gasped when Rubi pulled her feet out from under her before stabbing another soldier in the chest from her position on the ground while the Runner, having recovered from the shock of her abrupt fall, emptied her last two clips into a shotgun wielding man who had just reached the rooftop from the access door twelve feet from them.

Faith dropped her pistols and pulled her assault rifle off her back while kicking Rubi out of the way of a hail of bullets while the problem solver emptied her own guns into the men responsible for the barrage of fire. Rubi flipped to her feet kicked the body of one soldier into the path of a shotgun blast aimed at the Runner who was just getting back up.

"It's getting a little crowded up here, I think we'd better cut this dance short." Rubi grabbed the shorter woman and leaped off the edge of the building, catching her sword on a telephone wire and zip-lining to another rooftop three blocks away.

When the newly formed duo had traveled a few more blocks and hidden in an empty grocery store, one that to both their surprise was fully stocked, they finally got around to introductions. "Rubi Malone, problem solver, need something taken care of just say the word. The word's money by the way."

Faith wasn't sure how to take that, she did get that the woman was a mercenary though. "Faith Conners, I was a Runner, a messenger, but I don't think our occupations matter much here."

"You think? So you have any idea why everything around here wants us dead?"

"No, I woke up in a white room and then I was sent here. I think I died."

"I know I did. Guess that makes two of us."

**CUT!**

**For the time being that's all, next time the heroes/mercenary meet some of Alex' other employees.**

**Bonus Content!**

**Eden Alpha: Largest Moon of Planet Eden, roughly the same size as Earth. The moon had a primitive atmosphere and was home to several species of grass and moss as well as insects and small fish before Alex began terraforming it.**

**Central Command: The primary structure of Alex' original base. Central Command is made up of four zones.**

**Zone One: The central structure of the base is, for lack of a better term, plain, it has no distinguishing traits inside or out, no decoration, and except where absolutely necessary no furniture. The building is made of an enhanced variation of Biosteel that is pure white. Zone One contains the main computer systems of Alex' bases and connects to all the other lesser sites on Eden Alpha and the other moons. Zone One also contains the only physical entrance to the tunnel leading to the OverMercer chamber.**

**Zone Two: Zone Two is based on Terran designs, though the technology making up the structure is vastly superior to what it resembles. Zone Two contains the main labs focused on technological research and study.**

**Zone Three: This zone is based off the Zerg structures Alex ate in the past. The entire zone is organic, making the transition between the other three zones and Zone Three unsettling for some. Zone Three contains the medical labs and genetics research sectors of the base.**

**Zone Four: Like Zones Two and Three, Zone Four is based on one of the factions of the Star Craft universe. Being based off Protoss technology and architecture Zone Four is the most visually attractive of the four zones, at least to most people, some find Zone Three more attractive. Zone Four holds Psionic research facilities and observation sectors, as well as a "Super Pylon" at it's core that allows a Psionic Matrix to be extended far beyond normal limits.**

**All four zones of Central Command have set clearance levels with variations depending on what rooms you are trying to enter. Most sentient beings employed by Alex have access to most parts of Zones Two, Three, and Four, while almost no self-aware beings have clearance to enter Zone One. (Freddie doesn't have high enough clearance to be in almost any part of Zone Four.)**

**That's all for now.**

Hob the Flesh and Blood Robot.


	22. Graduation Trip

**First Things First, I didn't write this, He Who Sees did, we agreed that we should both post it since it involves both of our writing. Other then me not having written this I don't own anything in...Holy Crap I half own the Tritoss, He Who Sees owns the other half, wow that's new, well other then them I in no way, half or otherwise, own anything mentioned here. It just occurred to me that I own Planet Chimera too, if not the worlds it's made of fragments of. How about that?  
><strong>

Groggily, slowly, Ernor Shivala's eyelids began moving, signifying his rapidly returning state of consciousness. Consciousness that began growing into confusion more than any other emotion. For the last thing he recalled was a ceremony. A coronation meant to officially induct him and the other graduates from the Priair-Academy into Active-Duty members of the Combatant-Caste. In fact, he and his squad of fellow cadets had just received their graduation medals from the Academy's Warden when he found himself in his current predicament.

He briefly wondered if one of the Academy's many void-sensitives was playing a final prank on him that he heard they liked to call "dark man" when hid lids finally managed to open completely, temporarily blinding him with white-light. He shut his eyes. Well, it probably wasn't THAT particular prank.

Even more slowly than previously, he began to open them again, gradually letting them get re-accustomed to the light. What he saw when they completely did, would have caused his jaw to drop if his initial gut reaction to something included that, for the mouth was a rarely used organ of his species since the establishment of their mutual Psionic link. For what he saw was the very same symbol with which his people associated with their creator, floating freely in the very same white-expanse he was said to dwell in.

With a glow that was black, dark red, purple, cyan, and golden all at once, the symbol spoke telepathically.

"Greetings my child." It said in a calm, soothing voice.

Ernor began stuttering telepathically. "By…by…the…fires of Mt. Malice…you're…you're…"

"You are correct my child. I…am the Mercar. "The being whom without which, the Tritoss would not be." The symbol said, reciting a verse that was often stated by Elder Khala and Void casters alike.

Ernor continued to look at the floating symbol with widened eyes, his mind utterly devoid of anything t say. For indeed, what could he say to such an entity, the God of his people, that would make him sound worthy of being in his presence.

"Do not fret." Said the Mercar. "You are plenty worthy, as are all of my children who follow my tenants O' Sergeant Ernor Shivala of the Combatant-Caste of the Tritoss people."

"How did you—" Began Ernor, before stopping himself and slapping his forehead. The Mercar was a god. Doy.

"You are too ** yourself. I understand perfectly well how you are feeling at the moment, and such a thing is fine. For it is not every day that a being such as I sends one of his children to his domain in order to speak."

Upon hearing this, Ernor performed the Psionic approximation of taking in a deep breath. Slowly, he said: "Alright then," with what he was sure was more of a whimper than he had anticipated. "If I may—why exactly have you brought me to your domain O' great and powerful one?"

"My reason is a simple one. A reason I believe will be well suited to you and your squad."

Ernor felt even more confused than he already was. "Me and my squad? What is it you intend O' Mercar?"

"I intend to test your squad, yourself included, to see if the first year graduates of the Academy of the planet Priair can stand against other soldiers who hail from some of the multitudes of other plains of reality I have encountered beyond yours. I wish for Diavi Squad to represent your class."

Ernor didn't know what to say, and he found himself stammering again before squelching his confusion to the point where he could speak clearly once more. "I am honored…humbled…that you have selected Diavi Squad for this test O' Mercar…but surely there is some other graduate team that possesses more skill, power, experience, ability, talent, and that is generally more deserving than…us." He said with genuine reverence and humility.

"All who undertake the path of the combatant are worthy Sergeant. And though you are not mistaken when you say your squad is not the most skilled, nor the most powerful, nor the most experienced, nor in the possession of the greatest ability or talent, your squad does hold onto something that makes you just as worthy as your peers."

"What…what is that O' Mercar?" The Sergeant stammered out again, much to his inner turmoil.

"I cannot inform you of this…yet. But know that if you and your comrades truly possess this quality, which I know you do, at the end of this test, the six of you shall uncover what it is for yourselves, without my intervention being a requirement."

The white-lights of the realm began glowing even brighter, and Ernor struggled to keep them open.

"Fair thee well, O' Ernor Shivala of the Combatant-Caste. May the odds be forever in your favor."

Ernor found himself rapidly losing consciousness. "Wait! What did you mean!" He yelled out weakly, before the realm of unconsciousness engulfed him once again.

**A word from the Author (He Who Sees): By the way, if anyone is wondering if the platform is made out of Necrodermis, you are correct.**

Hovering in perfect geosynchronous orbit over a particular continent belonging to the world of Chimera, there was a platform. Measuring a hundred feet in length on all sides, this flat, square shaped surface floating weightlessly in space was comprised of a solid black-metal that Corporal Rylar Catachatun could not identify (though she did easily imagine the techs and metallurgists back home jumping in glee at the chance to study and analyze it). She did however sense some sort of…lingering presence in the metal. Some latent, living energy signature that held an eerie resemblance to the Void, albeit far more…malevolent in the inherent sense.

She continued to wonder about the metal when she heard Private Gohelm Windfel Psionically whistle before kicking a small rock that was somehow "attracted" to the platform much like the squad was, and watching as the planet's gravitational pull immediately acted, forcing the rock downwards into the upper atmosphere where it was immediately surrounded by intense flame and suffered the same fate most meteorites do when passing into that medium from Space's vacuum.

"Well, if we fall off, at least we won't have to wait too long before reaching the surface." The Private said.

"IF we can even land without ending up like that old pet "dweller" you had back on the plains that got charred to Cinders by old man Yenkin's drake and was summarily stomped on by its tail." Said his brother, Private Yodel Windfel, walking up alongside him.

"Wait, what!" Gohelm explained, turning his pressurized helmet around to face his sibling, "You, Father, AND Mother told me that Mr. Fluffylaferrus ran away into the nearest River so he could make it back to the sea!"

"Yeah, well, a really large fire-spewing reptile snuck into our Beastarium one night and decided that it really wanted biochemical sustenance in the form of fried and crushed cephalopod. We just felt bad about it and decided to tell you some flight of fancy about how it crawled out of its pool because it had grown too large and as heading for the ocean." Yodel said with the Psionic equivalent of what his Terran ancestors would refer to as a "shit-eating grin."

Gohelm looked back towards the planet, his Spirits lowering dramatically when another voice joined in.

"Don't tell me your falling for that Wyrn-fodder again Gohelm." Said Private First Class Nel Rock-Crusher, approaching Gohelm's other side with Private Hapua Kalkalani close behind. "For Mengsk's sake! Your brother is not some smooth talking void-sensitive who could somehow manage to bare false-testimony in the presence of the Queen and succeed…no offense Corporal-" She finished, turning her head towards Rylar, who nonchalantly said:

"Non taken."

"Oh please Nel. You're just venting your anger towards me because despite the fact that you're PFC, I still have a higher kill to expended rounds ratio than you ever achieved! Which is nothing to say about my accuracy rating Ms. Broadside-of-Mount-Malice."

PFC Nel's armored fists clenched at her sides.

"Private Kalakalani!" She mentally shouted.

"Yes mam!" The Private said, saluting without hesitation.

"Add this to the list of things to pay back Private Yodel for some day soon." She said in a low, but non the less threatening tone.

"Mam yes man!" He said saluting again, adding Yodel's action to one of his armor's computer's logs.

"Pffffff." Scoffed Yodel, arms crossed over his chest. "Like you're ever going to make good on those threats of yours. I'm still waiting for the "retribution" you said was heading my way after I created a wind-current that caused that practice grenade to blow up in your face and made you go rolling down that hill before crashing into the Drill Sergeant's office. Granted, he himself dealt with me with his own form of disciplinary action, but you never did give me your own." He finished, cheekily.

Beneath the face-plate of her Power Armor and beneath the head encapsulating helmet she wore beneath that, Nel's eye-brows furrowed even more if such a thing was possible. Any telepath worth his or her weight in Protossium could feel the Irateness flowing from her mind like rain from the steep Mountain-Tops of Northern Earius or Central Aiwai during the wet-season and could accurately predict what was likely to occur next.

Corporal Catachatun was about to verbally (and if the need arose, "physically") put an end to the spat between the Regular Private and Private First Class when someone unexpectedly accomplished that task for her.

"What in the Fram-berry hill is going on here!" Shouted Sargent Ernor Shivala, slowly pushing himself up to his feet from his position dead-center on the platform.

As fast as they could, which was inhumanly so, the other five troopers turned around to face their CO and saluted him.

"Sergeant Shivala!" Said the Corporal. "You're awake sir!"

"You sound shocked Corporal Catachatun. Why is that?" He said, stretching out his ligaments as he walked towards the rest of his squad.

"Because sir, according to your brain-wave pattern, you were in really deep REM, the kind that make a person sleep about a day or so, We didn't expect for you to wake up so soon."

The Sargent stopped abruptly, a foot in front of his team-mates (Rylar in particular). He stared at her with what she could feel was an intense gaze beneath his layers of head protection before moving along the rest of the line and doing the same to the others. After walking past Yodel, he Sargent swiveled around with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Can the rest of your confirm this?"

A unanimous reply of "Yes we can sir!" came from the Windfels, Rock-Crusher, and Kalkalani.

The Sergeant remained as stock still as those under his command for a few moments before swiveling back around to face them and saying:

"Very well then. At ease."

The five before him immediately brought their hands down from their foreheads, their stances slackening and relaxing only slightly.

"Now I wasn't exactly completely conscious when I noticed PFC Rock-Crusher and Regular Private Windfel here were squabbling like children of the citizenry over jerky."

Ernor began alternating his head between Nel's and Yodel's face-plates.

"Would you two care to explain to me what in particular you two yokels were squabbling about!" He said with a far more authoritative and decibel laden tone.

Within the confides of their armor, the two struggles not to quake at the Sergeant sudden shift into anger (though Nel was able to stand more resolutely and recover from her fears far more swiftly). The PFC was first to speak.

"It was the usual sir." She said. "Yodel here was picking on his brother again, and when I told him how full of fecal material he was, he kept blabbering more and more until I was just about ready to deck him."

The Sergeant turned his head to regard Hapua.

"Private Kalkalani! Is it true that PFC Rock-Crusher was about to deck Private Windfel?"

"Like my Great Auntie Caleo's right hook, sir!" The Private responded with a surprising lack of humor in his voice.

The Sergeant broke out into a fit of chuckling.

"That bad huh?" He asked, subconsciously rubbing his head as though remembering some great pain there from long ago.

Hapua nodded, a small Psionic smile coming from his mind. The Sergeant turned towards his XO.

"And how long, exactly, was the argument Corporal?"

"About a minute sir." Said Rylar. "However, I was about to intervene just before you first spoke here, sir."

Ernor's eye narrowed upon Rylar.

"Did I hear you right Corporal?"

The Sargent scanned through the visors of the other members of his team.

"Did I hear the Corporal right people? Did she just say that she was ABOUT to stop the squabblin' goin' on BEFORE I got up!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Did I hear that it took PFC Rock-Crusher preparing to come to blows with Private Windfel before Corporal Catachatun decided it would be prudent to intervene despite first-hand knowledge about how arguments between the two aforementioned parties typically transgressed!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The Sergent turned back towards the Corporal, whose eyes were threatening to bulge out of their sockets they were so wide.

"Sergeant-I-"

"We're not in our first year anymore Corporal Catachatun. You should have stopped their little spat prior to it even escalating to that point. We're graduates, and if I was drill Sergeant Arley, I'd probably use that as an excuse to make you take the physical portion of the Final Exam again, except alone this time and without a cloak."

The Corporal looked through her mind, trying to come up with a defense or rebuttal that would work in her favor. Finding that there were none in this situation (unless you counted shifting the blame on the two Privates who had perpetrated the incident, which she herself did not), she remained as silent as the graves of her ancestors.

"Furthermore-" Continued Ernor, "I do believe we have ourselves a monumental task ahead of us, given by someone with a far greater power than any creature of Mortality, even the queen herself. I'm assuming that you are all aware of this?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good! Then all you know why we've been brought here." He said, before moving towards the other end of the platform and looking down towards the planet below. "Right below our feet, on this world whose name escapes me, lies an unknown number of adversary's from an unknown number of alternate plains of reality. The Mercar himself has selected the entirety of Diavi squad to see how we compare to these unknown soldiers."

Swiftly, he turned around to face his men yet again.

"Now I do not claim to know the workings of the Mercar. I do not claim to know whether whatever lies on this world we're hovering over will be a pleasant dream or an eldritch nightmare to us. I do not claim to know that we can stand resolute and victorious over the hostiles inhabiting this planet."

Slowly, he began walking towards his men.

"But I can tell you this much! We're going to show our enemy, whoever they may be, what we are capable of accomplishing as a single, solitary unit! We're going to show them what the Troopers of our caste, of the Tritoss, who have been training for combat since we were adorable little 30 year old munchkins can do with all those 120 years we spent training ourselves to the extreme. We are to do everything we can to honor the Academy of Prair, and with any luck, we just might be able to honor the Mercar as well!"

Abruptly, Ernor came to a halt, once again standing at the same spot he had been earlier to walking towards the other side of the platform.

"So when I say that you all better bring you're A-game, that you all better stop bickering with each other and perform your duties to the best of your abilities-" He said, that last part directed towards the Corporal if his face's position was any indication, "-do I mean it when I say you will be summarily and suitably reprimanded!"

"Yes you mean it, sir!"

The Sergeant nodded in approval.

"You are all correct! Now-"

Ernor moved back towards the platform's other side, once again looking downwards.

"-from the looks of things, we are over one of the planet's Continents. Since I cannot identify any other noticeable land-mass, that's our best bet of landing on solid-ground-and I don't know about you all, but I do not want to go for a swim"

Ernor swiveled his head around to his assembled team, a Psionic smile forming on his mind.

"So, who here feels like playing a nice game of "Tornado Diving" taken to an even higher extreme?"

"We do sir!"

Ernor chuckled.

"Somehow I knew you'd say something like that."


	23. This is Vengeance

I Own...Just a Minute, Think There's Something Around Here...Nope, I Own Nothing.

**Played Arkham City and it reminded me how much I hate it when the villain is just left to do whatever it is they do again and again. As a result of this, I have decided to kill off a few of them. (The Streets Will Run With The Blood Of Goons And Thugs, When I Get Back To This, You Have Been Warned.)**

**Eden Alpha: Central Command: Surveillance Recordings Viewing Station Four.**

Alex rolled his eyes, growing seven more just so he could roll them too. "One hero I just can't talk sense into, the problems those guys cause won't stop until they're dead. And Zsasz escapes a few months later before killing a dozen more people before Bruce catches him, he then escapes again, rinse repeat. Joker goes on to cause a few hundred innocent deaths, Penguin doesn't change, Harvey's still a psycho, Bane's a monster, Deadshot gets out and gets paid to kill more people. You aren't stopping them by locking them up, you're just delaying them a bit. Karma!"

The Absolute misted into the room, her usual glare when dealing with Alex firmly in place. "What do you want?"

"A deal. You know this world right?" Alex gestured to the images on the screens around the room. "Your influence in those worlds is dulled by the heroes and their moral views, the fact that most of them are just short of being villains themselves doesn't help I guess, anyway, I've decided to help Batman out a bit, he'll hate it but he does know on some level that it's the only way to actually deal with them, but to do this and have it actually matter I need my agents to be working with your power behind them."

"And why should I help you?"

"Because you want the villains to get what they deserve just as much as I want to make a difference in the situation, I do still have to do that once in a while. So what do you say?"

Karma shifted into Blind Justice and held her scales up to his face in a threatening manner. "You have to swear they will pay for what they've done! If you are going to do this you must make sure every last one of them, all of those in Arkham City will be punished for their crimes. I will not help you unless you can promise me justice will be done!"

Alex reached into his jacket and withdrew a black straw doll. "I swear everyone in Arkham City will be held accountable for their past actions."

Karma, blindfold be damned, stared at the doll for a moment before sighing, an action Alex had noticed tended to cause the world to shiver when an Absolute was the one doing it. "So Vengeance will serve Justice?"

"When does it not? From my perspective this is the logical solution." Alex smirked while Karma glared at him. "Do we have a deal?"

"Not yet, what do you want in exchange for this? You will be helping me so I must repay you somehow."

"Nothing comes to mind right now. Alright, at any time in the future if I need something from you that will be the payment for this. Deal?"

"Deal." Karma responded in a resigned manner before flipping the sword in her right hand around and presenting it to Alex hilt first. "Those who bare this act in my stead."

Alex took the sword before dividing the conceptual contract item in half, one piece for each of the two he would be sending. "I swear once again, everyone in Arkham City will be held accountable for their past actions."

Karma vanished without a word. Alex turned around, not surprised to find the first of the pair he was sending to Gotham standing right behind him, he transferred one half of Karma's authority to her and smiled. "Ready to go pick up your partner for this mission?"

Unblinking red eyes stared back at Alex while their owner answered in her usual calm and quiet voice. "Yes."

**Earth: Gotham City: Arkham City.**

Only one minute had passed since Batman had saved them and left so the two former hostages of Zsasz were surprised when the door opened and a man in a dark leather jacket and faded blue jeans walked in. "If you're up for it I think I can get you both somewhere safer, there's a little shanty town area you should be fine in."

"Who are you?" The two's distrust and caution were understandable.

"If you have to call me something then Alex is fine, I'm not a hero or anything but I can't just leave two innocent people here, if Joker's goons found you you'd wish Zsasz had killed you." That was all it took, the two were on their feet and out the door in seconds. "Just wait at the top of the stairs for a minute, I want to have a talk with this guy."

Alex walked over to the cage where the psychotic killer was confined. "So you're the freak that thinks he's saving people by murdering them."

"I don't murder people, I liberate them! I free them from the pain and suffering that life forces on them!"

Alex interrupted before the mad man could get a full blown rant going. "Yeah yeah. Look, I don't care, I'm just here as her escort."

When the man who had accused him of murder stepped aside Zsasz was surprised to see a teenage girl in traditional Japanese clothes behind the man, the girl was a bit short for her age and had extremely pale skin and red eyes, her hair was pitch black. For the first time in a long time Zsasz was afraid, something in the girls eyes terrified him.

"Oh Pitiful Shadow Lost In the Darkness, Bringing Torment and Pain to Others, Oh Damned Soul Wallowing in Your Sin. Perhaps, it is Time to Die." The soul of the murderer was ripped from his body and cast into a hell created just for him, leaving an empty shell lying in the cage.

Without a word Alex Mercer turned and walked out of the hideout, collecting the two political prisoners on his way out of the building before escorting them to the small camp where other, not so criminal, residents of Arkham City were holding up.

**Short yes, but I haven't beat the game yet and don't want to risk killing off any of the main villains if I don't know for sure that they aren't needed anymore.**

**The Alex Mercer in Arkham City right now isn't the one that was sent to the Korprulu Sector, he's a version of Alex from a world that went a little nuke happy trying to kill him, his options were to stay there, basically in a Fallout type world, or escort Ai Enma around Arkham City until everyone there is dealt with appropriately according to their crimes.**

**The version of Ai here works for Alex, I can explain how that happened but I won't do that here, if I get around to it then you'll know why she's there, if not, sorry. Also, I used the English Dub version of what Ai says, the one I saw on TV anyway, if it's not what you've heard her say then sorry about that to, it's just the best translation I've see, the others I've found all kind of suck and make very little sense.**

**Anyway, thanks for bothering to read this and if you have the time and wish to do so I wouldn't object to you reviewing this.**

Hob the Damned Robot.


	24. Chapter 24

I Own Nothing.

**Not All Villains Are Bad Enough To Warrant Soul Shredding So Here's Alex(Not God Alex) and Ai dealing with Deadshot.**

**An Eye For An Eye.**

As Batman swung away Deadshot shouted and screamed, mostly empty threats and a lot of swearing but nothing the brooding hero hadn't heard a thousand times before. The mercenary seethed and paced the length of the train car repeatedly, after a few minutes he stumbled and caught himself when something heavy landed on top of the abandoned transport.

"What the...?" He nearly had a heart attack when a massive blade cut through the top of the car at the end opposite his current position. The blade cut a five foot gash in the roof of the rail car and was then retracted, the hole in the roof was then ripped wide open and a man dropped into the car.

"Who are you?" Deadshot was worried, the man was seriously creeping him out and Batman had taken all his weapons.

"Ai what do we do here? He's not bad enough for you to do your thing but he's still trash and has some major bad karma hanging over him." The man seemed to be talking to no one.

"Who are you talking to!" The mercenary picked up a piece of pipe and held it like a club.

"Hm? Oh you haven't met." The man turned to reveal an Asian girl in a school uniform standing behind him. "Deadshot, Ai Enma. Now shut up, we have business to discuss."

Deadshot rushed forward, figuring he could catch the man by surprise and maybe take the girl hostage. The man turned back to Deadshot and raised an eyebrow, the girl waved her hand and the mercenary found himself hurled backwards landing hard on the floor.

"You really don't listen do you? Okay so what do you think Ai?" The girl looked at Deadshot for a moment, her red eyes pinned him to the ground the moment he looked into them.

"He prizes his accuracy above all else, his eyes are his greatest personal treasure and they are what has allowed him to commit the crimes that have marked him." The girl kept almost any sign of emotion out of her voice, in his current state Deadshot didn't hear the subtle flare of disgust that slipped through when she mentioned his crimes.

"Alright then. You heard her, hold still and I'll make this as painless as possible." The man pulled back his right arm and his fist melted into a pair of spikes spaced perfectly to strike a grown humans eyes, with a bit of extra space either way to account for differences in peoples facial structure.

"Get away from me!" The mercenary crawled backwards and started throwing whatever he could pick up while the man in the leather jacket calmly walked toward him ignoring everything that hit him. When he ran out of space to back up Deadshot staggered to his feet and looked for a way out, in the end he attempted to punch his attacker which proved futile and more then a little damaging for the mercenary.

Alex caught the punch in his left hand and squeezed, reducing the bones to pulp with no effort, he then grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "Now hold still, we have bigger fish to deal with so stop wasting our time."

Every goon and thug in the area heard Deadshot's screams as the pair of bone-like spikes destroyed his eyes, though they didn't go deep enough to cause any potentially fatal damage. Alex dropped the blinded man to the floor where he lay writhing and screaming with his good hand over his face.

"I'm guessing Batman hasn't already put down another big one so what do we do while we wait Ai?" Alex turned and looked at the calm former spirit of vengeance.

"There are still many lesser criminals to be dealt with, we should take this time to eliminate some of them." The red eyed girl vanished having given her opinion.

"The small fry then? Alright, let's see if I can pull off a different monster this time. Let's see...Xenomorph? No, to much hissing, I hate hissing. Jaws on land? That would get to much attention. How about..." Deadshot didn't hear any more then that because Alex had jumped out of the hole in the roof and disappeared into the city.

**That's all for now. I was going to write Alex playing horror movie monster like UberAlex did before but I couldn't think of what to use as a base so I didn't do it, if anyone has any suggestions then I'd love to hear them.**

**Along with suggestions for how Alex could scare the living hell out of the goons around Arkham City I wouldn't mind hearing requests for how to deal with some of the other villains, they're mostly getting their souls torn out but I mean ways to describe brief glimpses of their personal hells. I am thinking of OverMercer recruiting Poison Ivy since her plant thing could be used in a few places in other worlds.**

**Hob the Justice Robot.**


	25. Guest Stars

Still Don't...Wait...Nope Still Don't Own Anything.

**More Meetings, though not all of them are good for those involved, also some violence and excessive use of Cole's radio. As to one of the creatures in the previous chapter, Eleanor dropped a Deathclaw off the cliff. There will be a wider variety of things from other worlds in this chapter, I think, maybe, I'll try to put more in here anyway.**

**Onward To Tomorrow!**

**Planet Chimera: Mars Sector.**

Delta stomped on the wolf-like mans head before tossing the body out of the building and setting it on fire. The former Big Daddy walked back up to the second floor and found Ace retrieving the last of the traps and mini-turrets, with exception of the one from the first floor.

"I think we should leave, all that noise may have attracted something else, there may be more of those things too." Ace was worried Delta would disagree but smiled when he simply nodded and took the turrets and spears she was holding while motioning for her to get her bags.

"Eleanor's in that direction right?" Ace pointed toward where the moon was hovering, it looked like the satellite couldn't decide what direction it was going. Delta nodded and lifted the small psychic onto his left shoulder before marching off in that direction.

Ace continually scanned the area within her range to insure that at the very least they weren't surprised by any living enemies, so it came as no surprise to Ace or Delta when ten more creatures like the wolf-man leaped at them from a cliff twenty feet above their heads. Ace caught all ten in mid air where Delta put an electrified Heavy Rivet in each of their heads before the girl sitting on his shoulder dropped them to the ground, all ten of them extremely dead.

In a large bunker several miles from the pair a man with messy black hair, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, wearing faded blue jeans and a long sleeved white shirt dropped a handful of sugar cubes into his coffee before sighing at the monitor in front of him.

"That's no good, brute strength and shear power are his strong points and with Ace...Hm?" The man brought up the personnel profile for Subject Delta on another screen. "When pressed displays greater intelligence then appearance and usual behavior would suggest? Let's see how far that goes. I wonder what Cross and Smith will do, fight most likely. Oh, the brownies are done."

**Planet Chimera: Earth Tropics Sector.**

"Demons? God, and I thought the Chimera were the worst of it. So what year was it when you died? I know you said you didn't want to talk about it but it'd be nice to know if there are any similarities in our situations besides being dead." Hale tossed another stick into the fire and checked the fish they were cooking.

"It was 2003." Rachel tossed a rock off the cliff they were camping on, hearing a quiet splash in the water below.

"2003? You died fifty years after I did, how's the world doing? Things were pretty bad last I saw."

Rachel stared at Hale. "How did I miss that? Earth was never invaded by anything other then Fiends, the invasion you remember never happened...on my Earth."

Both half-humans just stared at each other for a full minute before beginning a panicked discussion about what this revelation meant.

Cross stifled a laugh while watching the duo go crazy trying to rationalize the situation. "Guess I should let them get that out of their systems before the party starts, it gives me some more time to get set up anyway."

"So in your history there was a war in the fourties with Germany and Japan on one side while basically the rest of the world allied against them?"

"Yes, but that never happened on the Earth you remember, instead the world lost contact with Russia and then in the fifties the Chimera started invading the countries around Russia, right?" Rachel had decided it wasn't that odd after thinking about it, if the Fiends had their own dimension then why couldn't there be other versions of Earth?

"Right, and the Earth you remember had demons, real demons and magic." Hale didn't remember much from his brief contact with the core consciousness of the Chimera but what he did remember was enough to tell him that alternate versions of his universe were entirely possible, but demons and magic were a bit much to swallow.

Rachel caught the doubt in her companions voice and stood up. The half-fiend floated into the air with fire and light gathering in her hands, the two spheres of magic were then slammed together to create a storm of light blades that sailed off into the night. "Blades of Ouroboros!"

"Yes, real magic and demons." Rachel smirked at the dumbfounded expression on the soldiers face.

"Okay, I don't think I can argue with that. Right, so magic, and demons, bet no one back home would believe this." Hale shook his head and smiled to himself. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything after this huh?"

"I wouldn't say that, I've been surprised quite a few times in the past in ways that had little to do with Fiends or magic, there are still mysteries in the world, like where we are for one." Rachel gasped when she remembered the voice from the room she woke up in. "You woke up in a white room right?" Nathan nodded. "Were you told to exit the room? Did you hear a woman's voice at all?"

"No, I didn't stick around long though, so maybe there was something and I didn't hear it."

"Well I woke up in a room most likely exactly the same as the one you were in, I thought I was dead so I didn't see any reason to move around much, after a few minutes a woman told me to get ready to leave, she said I was taking longer to get ready then someone she called Subject Delta, does that sound familiar to you?"

"Sounds like a designation for a military experiment subject, someone they'd test drugs or something on, never heard it before though. Think there are other people here besides us?"

"At least one more, but there could be others too, I just hope we aren't the only two that are civil."

**Planet Chimera: Earth Plains Sector.**

Cole sat on a rock staring off into the distance, the radio playing Don't Stop Believing. The Conduit tossed the Blast Core from one hand to the other wondering if it would be safe to use it; if it was just like the ones back in New Marais it would leave him out for at least an hour, could he afford to be vulnerable for that long?

**"Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere. Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit. He took the midnight train goin' anywhere."**

"Haven't been attacked by anything for a while but with my luck something would probably show up the minute I was out, at least if Zeke were here I'd know someone was watching my back."

**"A singer in a smokey room. A smell of wine and cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on."**

"Alright, no use just sitting around..." Cole jumped up and stared in the direction he was sure he had just heard gunfire. "Guess the Blast Core will have to wait after all." The hero put the shard of rock back in his bag and sprinted off to see what was going on on the other side of the ridge.

**"Working hard to get my fill, Everybody wants a thrill. Payin' anything to roll the dice, Just one more time. Some will win, some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on."**

Cole crouched down and watched what appeared to be a live action western unfolding before his eyes, with the exception of the fact that only one cowboy was involved, the man in question was exchanging fire with what appeared to be aliens, tall, pale skinned, yellow eyed, mouths filled with fangs, aliens.

It looked like the man was a good shot, one of the aliens was down and another looked injured, but the difference in the weapons the creatures had and the primitive equipment of the cowboy and the advantage of numbers would obviously win this shootout if Cole didn't interfere.

"He's less likely to shoot at me, so here we go." The moment Cole leapt off the small cliff toward the aliens the radio changed songs. When Cole landed, smashing the Amp down on one of the creatures heads, the new song really started.

**"Everybody was kung-fu fighting, Those cats were fast as lightning, In fact it was a little bit frightening, But they fought with expert timing."**

Cole spun to his left and swept one of the aliens off it's feet before leaping over it and kicking another in the chest, causing it to shoot the injured alien by accident.

**"They were funky China men from funky Chinatown, They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down. It's an ancient Chinese art and everybody knew their part, From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip!"**

The hero of New Marais weaved and dodged among the aliens, breaking bones and damaging their weapons with the Amp while the song continued. Cole was almost surprised when he ran out of aliens to beat on, he shrugged before Bio-leeching the last one.

John Marston hadn't been able to see most of the fight, hidden behind his wagon for his own safety and all, but it had sounded incredible to the former outlaw. "My god, how did you do that?"

Cole turned to the man who had only just then, right after the bio-leeching finished, stepped from cover to examine the broken and battered bodies of his former attackers. "Uh? Practice mostly, never had to fight aliens with laser guns though."

The radio, which had gone silent briefly, chimed in at that moment, a voice both humans recognized. **"Those aren't laser guns Mr. MacGrath, that would imply that the Chimera used light based weaponry, those guns, the Bullseye and Auger if you wanted to know, are plasma weapons, they fire projectiles formed from the fourth state of matter, a laser gun would fire a beam of focused light."**

Both men stared at the once more silent radio. "What's that thing?"

"Huh? Oh, right, guess you wouldn't know what it is. It's a radio, not sure where it's picking up it's signal from though, it just seems to come out of thin air, it's a machine that receives signals from another source and plays whatever is in the signal; music, voice recordings, and apparently the crazy woman that dumped me here can talk through it.

"Not just you, I had a chat with the owner of that voice too. So why do you have that, radio?" Marston felt he was taking the situation quite well.

"I killed a giant bug, monster, thing in a jungle a few miles away from here and a bunch of orange boxes came out of it, the radio was in one of them." Cole shook his head while wondering when it got so normal for him to say such bizarre things.

John backed up and leaned against the wagon, vaguely noting that his horse had run off again. "What?"

"I know, weird, unbelievable, but that's what happened. Trust me I'm having trouble with the fact I'm talking to a guy that looks like he walked right of an old western movie, so you're not the only one questioning their sanity here."

Marston sighed after a moment of silence. "Think you can help find my horse?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Both men began searching for signs of the wayward equine, neither quite ready to try rationalizing their shared circumstances. The radio began playing The Show Must Go On while the two searched.

**Planet Chimera: Metropolis.**

Faith and Rubi slid under a stationary truck, both shooting at their pursuer as they did so, the creature behind them just roared and swatted the vehicle aside and followed the pair into an alley. The Runner started making her way to the rooftops while Rubi slammed a door open and dashed into the building.

The Hunter almost followed Rubi but was distracted by several bullets punching into its' skin, Faith took a few steps back and ran forward, leaping through an open window on the opposite building just as the Hunter landed on the roof she had just left. The Runner rolled to her right and scrambled to open another window, flipping out and hanging from the sill while the Hunter, having realized at least a part of what it's prey had done, leaped back through the damaged wall it had just crashed through and landed back on the empty rooftop.

Faith slipped back through the window and quietly dashed into the hall and headed to the roof via the stairs while Rubi rode the elevator up. The Hunter's rather acute hearing alerted it to the moving elevator and the monster smashed its' way through the walls between it and it's prey. Rubi heard the doors several floors below her current position being torn open and grabbed onto a service ladder in the shaft, just above the now motionless elevator before shooting the wires holding the metal box up.

The Hunter, once it reached the bottom of the elevator shaft, roared as it tore the elevator apart to free itself before charging straight up the wall to catch up with the two humans who had just reunited on the roof.

"Dropped an elevator on him, think that did it?" Rubi reloaded her pistols while Faith pulled a pair of grenades out of her bag.

"Doubt it, probably hurt him though." Both women reacted instantly when the Hunter smashed through the roof access door. Faith pulled both pins and threw the explosives while Rubi fired two simultainious shots, detonating the grenades within an inch of either side of the Hunters' head.

The monster stumbled and growled while temporarily blinded, Rubi and Faith headed for the next roof while their pursuer recovered from the surprise attack. The Hunter shook its' head and roared before leaping from it's current location to the slightly lower roof of the next building, it landed ten feet ahead of the humans.

"Good night." Both spoke in unison, they were getting used to that, while the four grenades they had thrown moments earlier detonated right under the Hunter, the blast stunned it and damaged the roof, dropping the dazed monster to the next floor where it's weight carried it through to the floor below that where it lay motionless for a moment before slowly rolling to its' feet, too dazed to do anything for the time being. Sustained fire from four SMGs brought the monster down, most of the bullets being aimed at it's head likely helped.

"Stubborn bastard, most things have the decency to die when you drop a speeding elevator on them." Rubi cracked her neck and replaced her guns in their holsters.

"Or blow two grenades right next to their head." Faith stretched after reloading her own guns and putting them away. "Should we go back for the stuff we left behind?"

"No, probably a waste of time, besides he wasn't alone remember, those guys couldn't keep up but that means they're between us and camp, we should just get moving and pick things up along the way to replace all that.

"Guess you're right. This better not be someone's idea of a joke, putting us through this for nothing." Faith jumped to another roof, Rubi following.

"If it is I'm shooting whoever is behind it."

"No argument."

A flash of red caught their eyes and drew their attention towards the park in the center of the city, a stream of red lightning was connecting the sky to the ground and didn't show any signs of stopping.

"A bit much just to get our attention don't you think?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it matters if we go willingly or not, try to run they'll just send more of those things to herd us back." Both sighed and started toward the park.

**Planet Chimera: Panau Desert Region.**

Eleanor was aware she was putting herself in danger by doing it but felt that the risk was justified if it meant she would reach Delta faster, so she was teleporting as far as she could again and again without much pause between jumps. The former resident of Rapture stopped when she reached the ocean, she could sense Delta further in the same direction but there was no way she could teleport across the enormous body of water.

A small base caught her attention; on the beach a short distance from her current location was what appeared to be a dock and several boats, there were also nearly fifty armed guards patrolling the area.

"Not likely they'd be willing to let me borrow a boat, but I don't want to just attack them if there's a chance they aren't hostile." Eleanor hid behind a boulder and watched, hoping to see something to tell her whether or not the humans in the camp were enemies or not.

For no reason Eleanor could identify, all the guards suddenly glowed red while the boats flashed gold. The colors remained for only a moment before fading, the soldiers didn't seem to notice it at all and the boats hadn't changed.

Eleanor smiled slightly while forming a green organic grenade in her left hand, Hypnotize would get their attention focused where she needed so she could use her remaining EVE on Electro Bolt to stun them so she could wipe them out with the weapons she had picked up in her starting camp.

The guard Eleanor hit with the small orb instantly turned and opened fire on the others, all of whom only hesitated a moment before returning fire and rushing over to examine the body afterward. One guard was killed by the Hypnotized soldier and another was injured, Eleanor wasn't able to tag them all with the blast of lightning but the ones she did get were between her and those who weren't effected so she had a perfect barrier between herself and enemy fire.

A pair of grenades killed or crippled seven of the soldiers while a pair of Spear gun shots impaled six more. Eleanor slipped behind a jeep and slung the Spear gun across her back again before drawing the machine pistol she had found back in the camp Alex had left her in when he brought her to the planet. With the accuracy provided to her by the various Gene Tonics her mother had oh so lovingly injected her with she was able to take out four more guards without a single bullet missing it's mark.

It didn't take long to finish off the remaining guards, once that was done Eleanor quickly searched the base for anything useful. In the end she found a pair of EVE Hypos and more ammo for her Spear Gun and pistol, along with a few grenades, smoke and standard, and a Mini-Turret.

Once she was ready Eleanor selected the most durable looking and, thankfully, fastest boat and started the engine after checking and confirming that the vessel had a full tank of fuel and enough extra for a full refill, hopefully that would be enough to cross the ocean and get her closer to Delta and Ace.

**Planet Chimera: Generic Ocean Sector.**

Eleanor didn't know why she was surprised when she was attacked by the swarm of flying fish, after everything else she really should have seen it coming, even the fact that the fish could in fact really fly wasn't that strange in retrospect.

"You better at least be edible!" Eleanor swatted another of the animals aside when it flew right at her spinning like a drill. More then a dozen of the creatures that seemed to simply ignore the laws of physics were already lying dead on the deck of the boat while Eleanor hurled lightning at those still flying around the speeding water craft.

Once the fish were dealt with and Eleanor had carefully confirmed that she could eat them the Big Sister settled down and watched the waves, checking her course and such every few minutes to be sure she didn't miss her goal somehow.

**Planet Chimera: E.D.N III Desert Sector.**

"What the Hell!" Alec Mason, and the Exosuit he was in, tumbled to the ground as a massive worm erupted from the ground under him. Once Mason got a look at his attacker he just stared at the creature for a moment.

The animal was roughly forty feet in length and had a nearly ten foot wide circular mouth, the giant worm possessed numerous glowing blue eyes on it's 'head' and along either side of it's body, the eyes were apparently protected from the sand through which the creature burrowed since they didn't seem bothered in the least by the grains of rock.

"Damn It!" Alec rolled the mech to his left to avoid the worms attempt at eating him. He remembered all too well that the mech was out of ammo, meaning he would have to ditch it to fight off the monstrous annelid.

Alec charged as fast as the mech could move away from the worm as it recovered from it's own failed attack, there was a large boulder jutting out of the sand about fifty feet from him and if he could reach it he was sure he could daze the worm long enough to exit the mech and lure the worm away from his supplies and transport before killing it.

The Exosuit slid to a stop and turned around to face the charging worm. A charging worm is actually a lot more intimidating then you might think, especially when the worm is forty feet long and twelve feet wide. When there were only seconds left before impact Alec slammed the controls to the right causing the mech to lurch in that direction while the worm sped through the vacated space and slammed into the boulder before dropping to the ground and making a number of gurgling noises and what sounded like growls.

Alec got around behind the boulder and leapt out of the machine, drawing both Banshee Pistols and rushing around the stone to open fire on the worm just as it fully regained consciousness. The bullets punching into its' skin immediately got the worms' full attention focused on Alec who wasn't feeling quite so sure about his plan now that there wasn't a few hundred pounds of armor between him and the rotating teeth of the giant worm.

"Alright, those just piss him off." Alec leapt aside just as the worms mouth slammed into the ground. He put away the pistols and pulled the Charge Launcher from his back and aimed at the worm. Surprisingly the trio of demolition charges detonating on the worm didn't kill it, it was seriously wounded, maybe fatally, but it seemed intent on taking Alec with it if it was dying.

Alec chose to take a risk and waited until the last second the next time the worm dove at him, just as it opened it's mouth the Martian fired a charge and rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding the monster. Just as the worm reared back up Alec triggered the charge he had fed it, not quite the rain he had been hoping for for the last three hours.

"Well I never want to see another worm again." Alec had managed to avoid most of the chunks of worm that were thrown about by the blast, but he still had to walk through the slime and some of the ooze did land on him.

Ten minutes later the L.E.O was beginning to overheat, it had been stressed beyond it's intended limits by the jumps down the cliff that brought Alec to the desert and the hours of walking through the desert combined with the split second maneuvers he had made to avoid the worm had only made things worse. The legs were refusing to move right and the internal heat was reaching unbearable levels.

Alec chose to ignore how dangerous it likely was to board the train he found thirteen minutes after abandoning the L.E.O, he was tired and hot and wanted to rest, the tracks seemed to go in the general direction of his destination and the giant gun on top of the double wide engine looked like it would deter any minor threats he may have otherwise encountered. Climbing onto the train and stowing his supplies in the main room of the engine, which was thankfully far cooler then the weather outside, Alec quickly found the controls for the train and got it moving.

"Now I just hope whoever is in charge of what tries to kill me will back off for a while." Alec leaned back against the cool metal and closed his eyes for a bit, he was woken from his nap about half an hour later by what sounded like jets.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Alec opened one of the two back doors of the main room and was shocked to see dropships of some kind depositing armored soldiers on the various train cars behind him. The troops and the vehicles looked, from what Alec could see, to be at least as advanced as the EDF, maybe a few years behind but advanced enough to be a major threat. All the dropships were clearly labeled in bold black letters on white armor: S.T.A.G.

Alec pulled one of the B.L.A.D.E.S and switched to the Rail Driver, his first shot got two of the S.T.A.G agents and the falling bodies knocked another off the train. When those close enough to have a chance of hitting him returned fire Alec just groaned. "Of course they've got laser guns."

If the Martian weren't used to fighting against superior numbers without backup he would have been really worried as the soldiers made their way up the two sets of train cars towards him, given past experience he was aware that he was in possibly the best position to deal with the situation and so decided not to complain in the hopes that things wouldn't get worse if he kept his mouth shut.

_"Ten down, only one-hundred or so left."_ Another pair of troops presented Alec with another opportunity to kill two birds with one Rail Driver shot. "Twelve! Okay, hope they keep making-WHOA!" Alec quickly eliminated the soldier who had nearly taken his head off with some kind of energy weapon equivalent of a rocket launcher, he also noticed that the weapon didn't match the others these men were using.

"So there's more weapons back there? Should of searched the cars before I started this thing. And I'm talking about them making mistakes." Since the S.T.A.G troops were getting closer Alec decided to abandon his sniping attempts and switched to the Assault Rifle and started firing three round bursts at his attackers.

Alec jumped when the previously unused com system of the train snapped on and began playing music:

**"All aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!"**

"Okay, that's great, I'm outnumbered, possibly outgunned, and may end up dead soon, but hey, at least I've got some music." Alec shook his head and switched to the shotgun and spun around to take out the S.T.A.G soldier that had just entered through the door to his right, before shutting down that B.L.A.D.E. and switching the other to Plasma Beam and leaning out of his cover to sweep the stream of energy across the advancing troops.

**"Crazy, but that's how it goes, Millions of people living as foes, Maybe it's not too late, To learn how to love, And forget how to hate."**

Alec switched off the B.L.A.D.E and put it away before drawing the Banshee Pistols, the soldiers weren't nearly as durable as that worm had been so it was a safe guess that the heavy pistols would work quite well on them.

**"Mental wounds not healing, Life's a bitter shame. **

**I'm going off the rails on a crazy train! I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!**

**Let's Go!"**

The Martian dashed out of the engine room and charged toward the surprised troops. The closest soldier had his feet swept out from under him while Alec fired two rounds into another before finishing the fallen clone with a single shot to the head before diving forward into the train car that soldier had exited from.

**"I've listened to preachers, I've listened to fools. I've watched all the dropouts, Who make their own rules. One person conditioned to rule and control, The media sells it and you live the role."**

Pistols back in their holsters and Maul in hand Alec climbed to the roof of the car and slammed the hammer into one soldiers stomach before he was even noticed and shoved the injured trooper off the train before running toward the back of the train and leaping from one set of cars to the other, rolling to a stop on an empty cargo car before rising to his feet and smashing a soldier in the face which sent the man flying into the side of the opposite car before he tumbled out of sight behind the speeding train.

**"Mental wounds still screaming, Driving me insane.**

**I'm going off the rails on a crazy train! I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!**

**I know that things are going wrong for me, You gotta listen to my words, Yeah!"**

A Singularity Cannon shot into one of the passenger cars took out seven of the remaining soldiers while Alec used the Banshee Pistols to eliminate the others on his side of the tracks. "Guess that wasn't so bad, could have been-"

Alec was cut off by the music abruptly changing to an ominous sounding instrumental piece, the music change was followed by a loud roaring noise that drew Alec' attention to a massive creature bursting out of the desert sand to the right of the train.

"I wasn't even done saying it! Damn it." Two seconds later Alec was firing Plasma Cannon rounds at the behemoth that could most likely eat the train if it wanted to.

**Planet Chimera: Metropolis: Public Park.**

Rubi and Faith stopped at the edge of the plaza that looked like it ought to have a fountain in the center, they noted the lack of a fountain right away. Instead of a fountain in the center of the stone and brick circle there sat a woman in deep green clothing clearly from somewhere in the middle east or Asia.

The woman had dark skin and long dark hair, gold rings hung around her ankles and a red gem was set in the forehead of the green cloth headress she wore. A great deal of the woman's skin was showing, what she was wearing would fit right in on a beach in California or Florida, including the green sleeves that were not attached to the rest of what covered her chest which amounted to a bikini top from the perspective of the Problem Solver and Runner.

Laying on the ground beside the woman was a single edged curved blade with a red jewel set into the pommel, the sword was covered in a flowing design all the way from the cross-guard to the tip of the blade.

Rubi pulled on of her pistols and aimed it at the woman. "You the one that called us out here?"

Red eyes calmly opened and studied the odd pair. "I merely gave you reason to investigate this location." The woman stood, leaving her sword where it lay. "You came here of your own free will, and so I shall test you further, as he has requested."

Rubi swore as her guns, all of them, exploded into particles of light, seeing the same happen to Faith's weapons didn't help her mood. "Who do you work for?" The mercenary drew her sword and prepared for a fight. "What's the point of all this?"

"I do not understand why he does the things he does, I only know that he gave me a purpose and home when I had lost everything else. I do not know the reason I am to test you but as he has commanded myself and others to do so I will not hesitate to act." The woman's eyes shifted to Faith. "You will need a blade, I hope this will be sufficient."

Faith stepped back in shock as a sword almost identical to Rubi's assembled itself from nothing right before her and floated there. Deciding that it was better to trust that the woman wasn't trying something and avoid trying to fight her bare-handed Faith reached out and cautiously grasped the handle of the weapon. Nothing happened that shouldn't have, the blade was just released from whatever force had held it where it was. The moment Faith grabbed the new sword the woman's own weapon was in her hand.

"So we have to beat you?" Faith had never really used a sword but she had seen Rubi quite a bit in the short time since they met and was sure that she could do an at least decent job.

"No, you have to fight me, I am not required to allow you to win, though I am limited to my own skills, the power I was given is no longer active, the moment you took up that sword the test began." The mysterious woman dashed forward, nearly disappearing for a moment as a result of how sudden the action had been combined with the simple speed at which she moved.

Rubi stepped forward and intercepted the attack, her counter was dodged and another slash of the woman's blade nearly took the mercenary's head off. Faith still wasn't accustomed to needlessly ending another persons life and so hesitated to get involved while Rubi and the woman fought.

After trading blows with Rubi for nearly a full minute the woman seemed to notice that Faith hadn't moved and flipped over the problem solver, twisting in midair and attacking her from behind forcing her to put more distance between herself and Faith in order to avoid being killed while their opponent used the break to rush toward the Runner.

Faith managed to block one swing and dodge another but the third left a cut along her left side, the fourth attack was interrupted by Rubi returning to the fight. Both women dodged and weaved around the odd woman who simply danced through their attempts to harm her; flipping over one blade, spinning around while dropping to her knees to avoid the other, it was actually quite a beautiful display if you were watching from outside the fight itself, and even Rubi admitted, if only to herself, that she was impressed and possibly outmatched by the woman.

The duo were barely able to avoid any of the woman's attacks fully, less then three minutes into the fight both were covered in small cuts that were the result of not managing to completely escape a slash here or a stab there. The woman flipped backward over an attack from Rubi after blocking a slice from Faith, the action nearly caused the two to injure each other by accident, she landed fifteen feet away from them with her sword drawn back level with her shoulders, one hand resting on the top of the blade.

Rubi glanced at Faith and nodded the Runner immediately understanding that she meant "Stay behind me and keep up." At the same moment Rubi and the woman charged forward, Faith falling in behind the mercenary.

The ring of metal striking metal filled the air while several drops of blood fell to the ground. The companions remained where they were when their opponent leaped back away from them; Faith noted, surprisingly calmly she thought, that there was a small amount of blood on the blade of the sword in her hands.

The woman brought one hand to her cheek and glanced at the blood on her fingers in mild surprise, she smiled at the two who were waiting to see what would happen next, not an unpleasant smile really but still not one you would want directed at you. The woman's eyes and the jewel on the pommel of her sword began to glow, she almost dashed forward again but jerked, as though restrained at the last second, and the glow in her eyes faded, the glow of the jewel following shortly after.

"You pass my test. I will insure that you are safe from the dangers of this planet for ten hours, use that time wisely." The moment the glow had faded from her eyes the unnerving smile vanished as well, replaced by the same calm expression she had worn before and throughout the fight.

Faith and Rubi stared in relief and confusion when the woman simply vanished without another word. Both slipped into a more defensive stance and shifted so they were back to back, neither was ready to believe they weren't in any danger after all they had been through on the planet so far. Eventually they decided that it would be better to keep moving and stay cautious rather then simply stay where they were and wait for something to happen.

**Eden Beta: Enchantment Research Lab Three.**

"You almost got carried away there." Alex didn't stop what he was doing when the swords-woman appeared in the room, other then his simple statement he gave no other sign of noticing her presence.

"Forgive me, it has been a while since I encountered two individuals with the potential those two possess who are already so skilled, had I had several people their equal in my army we would have sustained fewer losses-" Alex cut her off.

"Thinking about that again? You won your wars and you remember what you were given in return, you don't owe them even the courtesy of remembering them. You gave them everything and they turned on you, don't bother wishing you had been able to do more for them before that, it would have happened regardless."

"Yes, forgive me. You are already aware of the outcome of my test, is there anything else you wish me to do?"

"Not at the moment, though I wouldn't object to you keeping an eye on Smith and making sure he doesn't go overboard with Marston."

"Consider it done." She bowed and vanished.

**Planet Chimera: Ocean Sector Two.**

Eleanor had dozed off at some point and was quite rudely awakened by an odd sound that reminded her of an advertisement she had seen somewhere, she didn't remember what it was advertising but that wasn't really important since her boat seemed to be sinking.

The Big Sister leaped to her feet and spun toward the source of the noise while drawing her Spear Gun. The sight that greeted her was one of the oddest things she had seen yet on this strange planet; it was a shark with a freaking laser gun attached to its' head.

A short burst of Electro Bolt to the gun instantly fried the creatures brain and it began drifting away, as close to dead as it could be without actually dying. Eleanor didn't even get around to thinking about stopping the leaks the shark had caused in her boat, the arrival of several more laser equipped sharks was a more pressing concern.

Spears and Electro Bolt were enough to kill the sharks but in the end there was nothing Eleanor could do to stop her boat from sinking, she was just relieved that the vessel had an emergency raft on board.

"Now what? Am I supposed to row the rest of the way?" Eleanor sighed. "I don't even know how far it is to land."

After drifting in the general direction of Delta for almost an hour Eleanor was surprised by the large wooden ship that had managed to sneak up on her without being noticed. _"Maybe I shouldn't daydream anymore."_

She instinctively teleported when she saw a net get thrown over the side of the vessel, clearly intended to capture her. Eleanor looked down on the confused men below her from the top of the main mast of the ship, she quickly put a spear in the lookout before he could alert the others to her location, she didn't hesitate here simply because she knew what the generic skull and crossbones on the ships flag meant; pirates.

"Why would there be pirates here? Who would they steal from? I guess it doesn't really matter, they have a ship, I need a ship." Eleanor nodded to herself before tossing her Mini-turret down into the crowd that was inspecting the empty net.

While machine gun rounds tore up the shocked humans Eleanor herself teleported down and started blasting pirates off the ship with telekinesis. Once the only surviving pirates she could see were in the water Eleanor fired several Electro Bolts into the ocean around them, knowing that even if they had been truly real people and not just enemies placed here to hinder her the pirates were still every bit as vile as Splicers, Eleanor didn't feel any remorse at leaving them dead in the water for the flying fish, laser sharks, and who knows what else to eat.

A quick search of the ship revealed several more pirates, several spears dealt with them and a quick few teleports later left Eleanor the only organic thing on the ship, alive or dead. Teleport made it easier but controlling the large vessel alone was still difficult, once Eleanor was satisfied that the ship was heading where she wanted to go she sat down and ate some of the surprisingly decent food she had found in the ships cargo hold.

**One Hour Later.**

"Stop doing that!" Eleanor hurled another Electro Bolt at her most recent attackers. "Bloody Mermaids!"

Moments ago while checking over the ship to make sure everything was still working right to get her where she wanted to go Eleanor had been knocked off her feet when a ball of water the size of a basketball struck her solidly in the stomach. After righting herself and rushing to the railing to retaliate Eleanor had discovered a creature that at first had appeared to be a mostly unclothed human woman waving some kind of wand in an odd pattern before launching a cannonball of water from the object.

It didn't take long for the former Little Sister to catch sight of more of them, almost identical to each other no matter how you looked at them, swimming toward the ship, the sight of their tails instantly confirmed to Eleanor that she wouldn't have been able to reason with the entities even if they weren't more of the things that seemed to exist just to attack her; Mermaids weren't described as the most civil and caring beigns, usually they were said to be vain and spiteful, Eleanor had always known those were just fairy tales and legends back on Earth but on this planet she doubted anything was impossible, and if these creatures were what legends and sailors stories described then they were certainly not friendly under the best circumstance.

The Mermaids seemed not to care whether they were leaping high out of the water to fire at Eleanor herself or attacking the ship from just above the surface, their intent was simply to end her any way they could. Streams of pressurized water had soon joined the original water bullets the wands could fire, Eleanor didn't need to be hit even once to know that she didn't want to be caught in the path of water moving at that speed.

Electro Bolt was effective if she could manage to hit the water near them, or better yet strike one of the fish women directly, but they just kept coming and they were quickly learning to get out of range of the shock effect the Plasmid created in the water. Eleanor doubted that they would respond to such a tactic any more then Splicers did in Rapture, but she saw no better option so she abandoned her electrical attacks and raised her Spear Gun while catching four Mermaids in mid jump with Telekinesis before lining them up and and impaling the struggling monsters with one shot straight through the left side of their chests.

The other Mermaids surprisingly took immediate notice of what had just happened and dove underwater, after several moments Eleanor released the corpses, dropping them into the ocean, before slinging her Spear Gun back over her shoulder and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, Alex said you'd have no trouble with them, guess I should know better then to bet against him, eh?" Eleanor turned and hurled an Incinerate fireball at the speaker, she knew that was an irrational thing to do considering they hadn't attacked her but she was extremely annoyed and whoever had snuck up on her provided a convenient target. "OW OW OW! HOT! HOT!" The man, now on fire, dove off the ship into the ocean.

"Next time don't sneak up on me!" Eleanor decided not to feel bad about having set him on fire, he had snuck up behind her while she was still defensive after the fight with the Mermaids.

"I'll remember that luv." Eleanor spun around again and actually got a look at the man who had jumped off the ship only moments ago. He was taller then her but nowhere near as massive as Delta, or any Big Daddy for that matter, average height if anything. The man was dressed in an extremely worn looking long coat and shirt that may have once been white along with a pair of somewhat baggy pants and old leather boots. He had an old bag slung over his shoulder that hung down on his left side.

The mans hair was longer then Eleanor had ever seen a mans hair and it wasn't very well cared for from the looks of it, though he clearly took a great deal of time out to braid it and the braids all had beads and other things tied into them. He wore a red bandana tied around his head and an old tricorne hat. He also had a goatee tied in a pair of braids.

"Who are you?" Eleanor prepared Winter Blast in both hands and narrowed her eyes at the man, her eyes gained a slight red glow that usually indicated an enraged Big Daddy or Big Sister.

"Ah! Allow me to introduce, myself." Eleanor lost some of her fury when the man paused and looked briefly uncertain what he was saying. "I am Captain Jack Sparrow. A pleasure to meet you Miss-" He was cut off by a blast of ice slamming into his face.

Eleanor wasn't naive or stupid, she had been in quite a few unpleasant places since escaping Rapture and she recognized the look Jack had been giving her and the way he was speaking. She was hoping she'd have the chance to introduce him to Delta sometime after telling her father about this incident.

"Was that really necessary?" Jack shook his head and spit bits of ice out while heating the air around his head, wondering if Alex had known Eleanor was going to do that to him. "You're too young for me anyway little girl."

"She could be one hundred and still be too young for you Sparrow." Both pirate and Big Sister turned to see a man in a long dark coat with orange lenses over his eyes, and short brown hair standing with his arms crossed looking straight at Jack. "I have my own job to do but Alex thought I should check on you before catching up with Smith. Now are you going to do your job or are you going to keep goofing off?"

"Alright mate, no need to get violent." Jack turned back to Eleanor. "I swear, steal the staff fridge one time and no one trusts you anymore. Anyway, good job so far, I'm not really a fan of confrontation myself, so instead of some big sword fight or shoot out or some other nonsense I'm just going to see if you handle a certain situation better then I did back home." The pirate winked and vanished, the other man having already disappeared.

Eleanor stared for a moment before teleporting to the top of the main mast again, she didn't know what was about to happen but it was usually best to have the high ground no matter the situation, unless lightning storms are involved of course. From her vantage point above the ship Eleanor immediately spotted the tentacles rising from the water along with the massive squid-like creatures head as it rose up out of the water.

Knowing that if she just stayed where she was the monster would simply destroy the ship beneath her Eleanor did the only thing she could given the situation, the three Rocket Spears she had been saving blasted large chunks out of the creature and got its' attention focused up toward Eleanor instead of on the ship itself.

Winter Blast and Incinerate kept the tentacles away from the Big Sister while she hurled lightning into the water around the creatures main body. Eleanor injected an EVE Hypo and teleported onto the creatures back, she was hurting it with her attacks but she didn't seem to be doing enough damage, so she decided to get up close and finish the fight quick, hopefully without any negative consequences for herself.

Eleanor dropped a grenade into each of the three holes her Rocket Spears had blasted into the monsters body, after the explosives detonated she teleported away from the grasping tentacles and hurled Incinerate at full power from both hands into the hole on the very top of the monsters body. Even in extreme pain the Kraken was still aware enough to attempt to catch Eleanor again so she had to cut her attack short and teleport to the lower deck of the ship, which was fine considering the ship was armed and the Kraken wasn't exactly in the safest position just then.

The Big Sister couldn't resist the impulse to shout. "FIRE!"

All cannons on the starboard side of the ship fired almost at once, teleport and superhuman speed had allowed Eleanor to prep all the cannons in a matter of moments and light them even faster, the Kraken writhed when fourteen cannon balls slammed into and through it. The creature was fatally wounded and slipped into the water without actively attacking any further, but it's tentacles caused a great deal of damage thrashing about as the monster died.

"No way this is going to hold together long." Eleanor sighed after inspecting the damage the Kraken had done to the ship, the main mast and mizzen-mast were cracked and splintering in multiple locations, the deck was heavily damaged and scarred with holes, and the hull was breached in several places below the water line. Long story short, the ship was sinking slowly and the damage was bad enough that it would get worse over time.

Eleanor spun and prepared Incinerate and Electro Bolt when she heard an odd noise behind her. Dead center, right behind the main mast, beams of light were gathering from thin air and taking the shape of a stereotypical treasure chest. Once the chest was whole and didn't seem to be going anywhere Eleanor began inspecting it, after a few minutes she concluded that there was nothing to do but open it and that at worst it would explode and blow the ship in half.

After preparing a lifeboat just in case the Big Sister used telekinesis from what she hoped was a safe distance to open the chest. The first crack in the lid resulted in a bright gold light emitting from the opening, the light got brighter the more Eleanor opened the chest, once the lid was all the way open and nothing happened, good or bad, she decided to go take a look.

The moment Eleanor lifted the well crafted Cutlass out of the chest a blast of music played from thin air and the ship began 'healing' on its own. Eleanor jumped back when a holographic screen appeared in the air over the chest and informed her that she had just acquired an Enchanted Cutlass before fading without revealing any further information.

"Well that was helpful. So this sword's magic?" The only evidence of the sword being unusual was the fact that it had somehow manifested a sheath for itself along with a belt to put it on. Eleanor chose to keep the weapon and fastened it to her waist before checking over the newly repaired ship, she was happy to see that the damage done by the mermaids was gone as well.

With the ship repaired, Eleanor decided not to worry about how that had happened, and her apparently magic cutlass on her belt Eleanor righted the ships course and continued on her way to find Delta and Ace.

**Planet Chimera: Mars Sector.**

Delta and Ace looked up at the high wall before them, it didn't fit no matter how they looked at it, the whole structure was just completely out of place. On top of being out of place the wall moved when they did, if they tried ot go around it it moved in whichever direction they moved and if they tried to go back the way they had come from the wall followed them.

"I can't read past the wall, there's a barrier just like the room I woke up in." Ace sighed. "We have to go through it." There was a door on the wall that always stayed straight ahead of their exact location, the only time it and the wall didn't move was when Delta walked toward it.

Delta nodded and set Ace down before again handing her the pair of pistols and cautiously walking forward and opening the door. The moment Delta stepped through the opening he vanished, Ace rushed through the door after him, more then not wanting to be alone she was concerned for the quiet man she had started to view as what she guessed was a father figure.

Ace flickered into view right beside Delta who was examining the room they were in and seemed relieved when Ace appeared. The room was fairly large and almost completely empty besides the two of them. In the middle of the room there was a raised platform with four buttons on it and the only door they could see was currently on the ceiling above them.

Before Ace and Delta could take a step toward the platform they both found themselves on their knees feeling like their heads were going to explode. Ace quickly realized someone with powers like hers was attacking them and was able to repel the force and shield herself and Delta.

"I see you've discovered your test Ace." A voice neither recognized spoke up from the walls around them. "Now Delta, you just have to navigate your way through this labyrinth, not to difficult, just hurry, the longer you're in a room the more severe Miss Wade's psychic attacks will become and I know you want to do what you can to protect Ace so I would advise making it through as fast as possible. I have some extra cookies you can take with you once the test is over if you hurry, I don't know if that helps but it would certainly motivate me."

Ace tried to find the speaker but again found her mind trapped within a limited area, she was however able to locate the source of the mental attack they had been struck by. She could sense the other psychic and was allowed to see into their mind; she saw a young woman in a red dress sitting on a swing hanging from a tree at the top of a hill, the psychic had long black hair and skin nearly as pale as Ace's own, she was smiling pleasantly at the younger psychic which didn't really make her any less threatening.

Before Ace could attempt to speak with the other psychic she and Delta were struck by another wave of mental power from the girl in the red dress, while she was able to protect them right away this time Ace noticed that the power behind the attack had increased significantly over the first one. "Delta hurry I'll keep us safe as long as I can."

While Ace' eyes began glowing Delta lifted her onto his shoulder and held her there letting her concentrate on defending them while he rushed over to the platform and began figuring out the puzzle. The first button Delta cautiously pushed caused several sections of the walls to move and slide around, the floor and ceiling didn't change. Delta pushed the same button again and carefully watched how the segments moved before pushing another button, he sped up his attempts when Ace winced and groaned and he felt some of the force of another psychic attack.

Eventually Delta was able to arrange the walls and ceiling and floor so that the door was level with him and it opened, the Big Daddy carried the young psychic through and into another room as fast as he could, both of them happy to be out of the giant rubics cube.

The new room they found themselves in was more of a long hallway then a room, four feet from the door the floor dropped off and was replaced by a pool of an unpleasant looking liquid that bubbled and hissed for no reason they could see. A hatch opened in the ceiling and a stone statue of some odd creature was lowered into the liquid, only a few seconds later the statue was lifted back out to reveal that every bit of it that had touched the green slime was gone.

Delta noticed that the hall was lined with buttons and pushed one of the two that were on the walls just within the room, the result was several platforms made of blue light appearing over the acid pool, the problem was that none of the platforms were close enough to jump to and even if they were there were none close enough to the other side. Delta pushed the other button and again several platforms of light appeared but most of the original set vanished.

It took a minute to figure out the pattern but once he knew what platforms would vanish and which wouldn't Delta was able to move from one platform to another safely while Ace continued to fight off the mental attacks of her fellow psychic, attacks that were getting more complex then simple blasts of mental force.

Three puzzle rooms later both humans were ready to be rid of the place and were not amused by the 'Exit' sign above one of the many doors in the room. In the middle of the room was another raised platform just like in the first room, on this one however there was a riddle, Ace and Delta both decided they didn't like riddles after that.

**Planet Chimera: Earth Plains Sector.**

"Okay, so let's see if I understand you here. You're from the future?" Marston looked skeptically at the man sitting opposite him.

"From your perspective yeah, the way I see it you're from the past though." Cole nodded and gestured for the cowboy to continue.

"Alright, we're dead but not so I guess I can buy that. You're from a place called Empire City but you died in a city call new Marais?" Cole nodded. "You died saving the world from, the devil?" John couldn't believe that no matter how odd their current situation was.

"Not exactly, The Beast I fought was just called that, he was a human like me who just happened to have a gene that gave him super powers. But yeah about where I'm from."

Marston nodded and sighed, deciding to move along rather then argue. "So you were blown up and somehow not only survived but now you've got the wrath of God in the palm of your hand? I'm sorry partner but that's just to far, you can't expect me to believe that."

"Your choice man, believe what you want." Cole took the Blast Core out of his pack and stood up. "Look, we can continue this later, right now I want to get this out of the way while I can."

"What the hell's that?" John looked and sounded less then comfortable in the presence of the glowing rock.

"Blast Core, irradiated chunk of stone created by the detonation of a Ray Sphere, it'll give me new powers or improve the ones I've already got. But, I'll be out for a while after so could you make sure nothing decides to eat me or something until I wake up?" Without waiting for Johns response Cole walked out of the cave they were camping in and held the glowing stone in front of himself before charging it just as John caught up and was about to question him further about what he was doing.

Marston leaped back and swore while lightning engulfed the Conduit. "Holy..." He trailed off and watched the brief light show. When the electrical storm passed the former outlaw cautiously moved his new comrade into the cave and just shook his head. "I need a drink."

**One Hour And Six Minutes Later.**

"Well my head hurts so I'm guessing I'm still alive, that's good." Cole sat up cracked his spine while stretching. "And you're still here and alive, so I take it you believe me now?"

John sighed and set aside the bit of wood he had been carving. "Well I still don't think I can believe you got blown up and that's why you've got the wrath of god coming out your fingers but I can't say I can explain away that little show of yours."

"Fair enough. Now I just need to-" Cole was cut off by the cave they were in dissolving around them. "Now what?"

Now standing in the open field again, hills to their left and a canyon to their right, Cole and John faced a man in a black suit who, despite the dark clouds in the sky, was wearing sunglasses and a man in a long dark coat who's eyes were hidden by a pair of orange lenses that seemed to be attached to his head.

"Mr. Marston, Mr. MacGrath, nice to meet you. My associate and I have orders to test the two of you to see if we think you're both up to the task our employer has for you in the near future." The man in the suit spoke in a calm and collected manner and also sounded extremely condescending.

The other man spoke up. "MacGrath you're with me, Smith's just gonna play some mind games anyway so let's take this somewhere we won't distract him, better for Marston's health that Smith stays focused."

Before Cole or Marston could react to what they had heard the man in the long coat blurred and reappeared almost right in front of Cole and delivered a solid kick to the Conduit's side which sent him flying to the right and straight off the cliff into the canyon. The man vanished again with only a rush of air signalling his movement.

"Now that they're out of the way for the moment." The Agent smirked and Marston's world dissolved into streams of data.

**In The Canyon.**

Cole hit the ground and rolled to his feet and had only a split second to dodge before the man who had knocked him down there in the first place nearly crushed his head. The Conduit hurled a Magnum Bolt at his attacker and was annoyed to find that it had no affect on the man, in fact if he didn't know any better Cole would have thought the man had simply absorbed the attack.

"Care to try again MacGrath?" The man tilted his head to the left and raised an eyebrow.

The walking electrical storm narrowed his eyes and pulled the Amp off his back. Blue arcs of lightning leapt around the weapon for a moment before solidifying into a massive blade, much to Cole's surprise while his opponent just looked slightly more interested in the situation then he had been before.

"That's new, never seen you do that. Gigawatt Blade through the Amp, good idea but I wonder if you can actually use it." The man held his arms slightly away from his body and Cole was shocked to see long blades extend from the back of the man's arms from under his sleeves.

Cole spun to his right and barely managed to intercept one of the blades and he was about to point out the flaw in attacking a living lightning rod with metal weapons but just stared as his Gigawatt Blade shrunk as long as it was in contact with the strange sword the man had swung at him.

The Conduit leaped back and recharged the Amp, the Gigawatt Blade flaring back to full size. "Okay, I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen."

The cyborg grinned. "Uru has a tendency to absorb just about any energy directed at it, and Alex gave me these blades specifically to fight you so it's safe to say your Gigawatt Blade won't be that much of a threat to me."

Cole flipped forward and spun around in midair to avoid a sudden attack from behind and managed to catch sight of his opponent before he heard a rush of air to his left and only just barely deflected a stab from one of the man's swords.

Then the radio kicked on and the fight was given a soundtrack.

**"Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind? Can he walk at all, Or if he moves will he fall? Is he alive or dead? Has he thoughts within his head? We'll just pass him there why should we even care?"**

Cole swung the Amp and spun away when his opponent jumped over the weapon and swung both blades at the Conduit's neck. Blades met lightning and drained more of the heroes power before he leaped away again and launched an Alpha Rocket at his enemy. The cyborg swatted the electrical missile aside and vanished before slowing back to visible speeds to swing both blades straight down, the attack was blocked by Cole who was quickly adapting to tracking a target solely by electrical signals.

**"He was turned to steel in the great magnetic field. When he traveled time for the future of mankind. Nobody wants him, He just stares at the world, Planning his vengeance, that he will soon unfurl."**

"Getting better. Looks like you'll survive this after all." The man slowed back down and stopped twelve feet ahead of Cole. "Name's Adam Jensen, we won't be seeing much of each other I think, but if you make it through this and the rest of your time on Chimera we will run into each other once in a while so best to know who you're talking to." Adam disappeared again.

**"Now the time is here for Iron Man to spread fear. Vengeance from the grave, Kills the people he once saved. Nobody wants him, They just turn their heads. Nobody helps him, Now he has his revenge."**

The cyborgs blades passed through empty air while Cole launched an Alpha Rocket which hurled the former chief of security through the air before he landed, unharmed on the other side of the small stream that was all that remained of the river that had carved the canyon.

Cole shut down the Gigawatt Blade and began gathering power for an Ionic attack. "Let's see how much energy those swords of yours can really take." A massive bolt of lightning roared down from the sky and struck Jensen perfectly, the cyborg almost dropped to his knees from the impact alone but stayed on his feet.

"Getting serious now? Good, then I can quit playing around too." Adam raised both swords above his head and then moved his arms out to his sides, the Ionic Storm splitting and following the blades as he did so.

The Conduit had no choice but to finish the attack before stumbling slightly. "No fu-, you have got to be kidding." Cole stared as Jensen smirked at him, both his blades glowing and roaring with the contained power of a lightning storm.

**"Heavy boots of lead fills his victims full of dread. Running as fast as they can, Ironman lives again!"**

Adam swung one blade down and the other horizontally toward Cole, blue bands of energy lashed out from the magically forged weapons. The first attack Cole simply leaped to his right to avoid, the wave of power cut and blasted a three foot deep and three foot wide trench in the ground which traveled straight up the side of the cliff as well. Cole couldn't duck under the second attack so he leapt over it, barely. The second blast left a trench identical to the first across the wall which miraculously didn't crumble from the damage done to it.

"So was the Gigawatt Blade all that Blast Core gave you?" Jensen lowered both blades to his sides and crouched. "I hope you've got more in you either way."

Despite the speed Adam was moving at Cole could visually track him by the blue streams of light his blades were now leaving as he sped along the ground. The one good thing that came of the cyborg absorbing the Ionic Storm was that Cole was able to track him with less difficulty.

**Planet Chimera: Tropics Sector.**

Rachel jumped to the ground and caught the supplies Hale threw down to her before he dropped down to join her. The alien hybrid and half fiend had decided to keep moving along the shore and head what they were for the time being viewing as north and so they set out in that direction.

Before the pair had taken more then three whole steps Hale heard a noise he recognized all to well and telekinetically launched Rachel away from him before jumping and rolling in the opposite direction.

The barrage of missiles cratered the area where the two had been only moments earlier before a Chimera Stalker of the same type Hale had first encountered in Europe crashed to the ground and took aim at him.

Nathan launched a shield from the Auger and prepared to fire while Rachel also got ready to attack the machine, both waited for the Stalker to fire but instead it shut down and the pilots seat opened up to reveal a man in a black special ops military uniform; the pilot of the Stalker had short greying hair and a somewhat scarred face, his eyes instantly told Hale that the man was a soldier and had seen a lot in his life, maybe more then was even possible for a human to see.

"Okay, I guess you're good enough. I've seen Alex' recordings of your time during the Chimera invasion and all, but since he said I was supposed to test you two I see no reason not to make sure you're really the soldier Alex thinks you are." The man gestured and Hale found himself falling, he had only a second to curse before he disappeared into the red portal on the ground beneath him.

"Hale!" Rachel dashed forward past the Stalker but wasn't nearly fast enough to reach the portal before it closed. The Fiend Hunter spun to face the man still standing on top of the alien machine, War Hammer in hand. "What did you do? Where is he?"

Cross grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Rachel leapt at the Specialist and brought her hammer down on his head as hard as she could, or rather she tried to bring it down on his head. The half fiend woman landed on the machine and stared in shock at the man who had without so much as a grunt caught her hammer with one hand and looked bored more then anything.

"You're not human." A simple statement, and rather obvious at this point, but Rachel couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Not anymore, no. But you're one to talk, at least I'm just a resurrected soldier given superhuman abilities by a god-like abomination of science, you're half demon." Cross paused and looked off into empty space for a second. "Actually I'm not sure which of us is more inhuman, oh well, not important."

Rachel shut her eyes to protect her sight when a flash of white nearly blinded her, when she opened them again she was standing in a huge Coliseum and Cross was standing on a balcony above her.

"Let the games begin." The former Blackwatch Captain clapped his hands together and five lesser fiends appeared in the arena with Rachel.

**Planet Chimera: The Battle Zone: Northern Europe Wilderness Sector.**

Hale curled up and rolled the moment he hit the ground, his forward momentum was lost completely only seconds later when he hit a tree. Having rolled a notable distance along the ground Nathan was 'painfully' aware that his Bullseye and Auger were both gone and he wasn't surprised to find that his Magnum was also missing; the only weapon he still had was a simple combat knife.

The soldiers eyes snapped wide open and he dove to his right while pulling the knife from it's sheath, only just managing to dodge a burst of gunfire from the ridge above him. Hale quickly and quietly navigated around to a position hidden from view and waited until his attackers came into view. _"Russians? Why would...Stupid question. They shot first and I doubt they're any more 'normal' then the men Rachel was fighting in that base. Guess I have to go through them to find her, least I know she can take care of herself."_

Nathan shoved one of the four soldiers into a tree and rushed out of his concealed location while the rest were busy trying to figure out what had just happened. Before he was noticed Hale grabbed one man from behind and stabbed him in the throat; leaving his knife where it was for the moment Nathan grabbed the mans gun and used him as a shield while spraying another soldier with AK-47 rounds.

Once the automatic weapon was empty and his second target dead the Chimera/Human Hybrid pulled his 'shields' side arm and telekinetically hurled the dead man at one of the remaining two soldiers, one of whom had not yet recovered from being slammed into a tree moments earlier. While one man was trying to get the dead body off himself Hale fired four shots into the other before he could lift his own gun to retaliate. The last of the four man group had only just managed to extricate himself from underneath his teammate when three bullets to the back of his skull ended his 'life'.

Nathan retrieved an AK-47 and relieved the bodies of the rest of their ammunition before hiding them in the bushes and heading down the narrow path they had apparently followed to get there in the first place, he also retrieved his knife before leaving.

_"Okay, I'm fighting Russians for some reason and I'm back in Europe, or a copy of an area in Europe more likely." _Hale watched a patrol pass under him while going over the situation in his head. _"Rachel should be fine on her own, if half what she said is true a Stalker and one man shouldn't be that much trouble."_

**Planet Chimera: Coliseum.**

Rachel backhanded a Bast Fiend and cleaved the cat woman's head from her shoulders while it was stunned. Cross stopped tuning his guitar and set the instrument aside before getting to his feet and clearing the bodies of the fiends from the arena floor.

"Okay I admit you're doing extremely well so far, so let's see if I can't make this tougher for you. Alright, it's pretty clear you can handle Fiends and most demons would be extremely similar so they're off the list, so let's go with machines then." Cross slammed one fist into the palm of his other hand. "Got it, that's perfect. GLaDOS this is Cross requesting a fully automated GTB-22 with assault weapon load out to Coliseum Three, don't try to hit Rachel though, orbital deployment isn't necessary but you can if you want."

The Fiend Hunter jumped back from where she had been standing and looked up just in time to see a large metal container descending rapidly from the sky, the impact raised a dust cloud that briefly obstructed Rachel's view of the object. The dust cleared just in time for Rachel to witness the container unfolding to reveal a large bipedal robot with a Gatling Gun mounted on its right 'shoulder' and a Rocket Pod on the left.

"Round Seven! BEGIN!" Cross clapped his hands together and the Faze leaped into the air while deploying smoke grenades.

Rachel heard a loud crash to her left and dashed forward away from the sound while pulling her machine gun off her back and releasing a volley of bullets toward the source of the disturbance, the location of the mech was confirmed by the sound of bullets striking metal. Knowing that the robot now also knew where she was Rachel leapt into the air and to her right and began charging magic into her hammer, only a second or two passed before a hail of bullets struck the ground where the blond woman had stood before.

Hearing the sound of the machines feet impacting the ground gave Rachel an update on it's location and the moment she landed she sent a shock-wave toward the killer robot, the attack cleared a path through the smoke and knocked the GTB-22 off balance briefly which the Fiend Hunter took full advantage of and charge toward the stumbling mech.

The Faze recovered from the shock-wave attack before Rachel could reach it and retaliated with a volley of eight rockets, forcing the warrior to abort her charge and avoid the explosive projectiles instead.

Rachel rolled to dodge the last of the rockets and drew her gun to fire on the mech only for the robot to leap into the air again, though this time it was pretty obvious it planned on landing on her instead of just close like before. The half-fiend jumped away just in time to avoid any serious harm but was still stunned and sent tumbling as a result of the impact.

Getting to her feet just in time to narrowly avoid another barrage of fire from the robots Gatling Gun, Rachel closed the now short distance between herself and the machine before it could register that staying close to her had been a bad idea. Rachel's War Hammer connected with the knee joint of the mechs right leg, and while it didn't immobilize the machine it certainly slowed it down as well as making any more jumps impossible without destroying its own limb upon landing.

With the mechs movement hindered Rachel was able to easily maneuver around it and deliver a pair of fully charged magical impacts to the machine with her hammer which crippled the robot and left her free to pry open what would normally have been the cockpit and smash the control system which permanently ended the fight.

Cross uncrossed his arms and smirked while Rachel glared at him. "Oh come on, you've gotta admit that was fun. Well anyway, let's move to round eight shall we?" The GTB-22 vanished as did the drop pod that had brought it to the surface. "Okay how about..." Cross opened a holographic list of VS and skimmed through it briefly. "Ah! That works. GLaDOS send down a fully armored and automated Enhanced GAH-42BS with a Shield and Laser Lance equipped, same coordinates as last drop."

Moments later another drop pod landed, this one smaller and kicking up less dust, which opened to reveal a machine smaller then the last which was humanoid in design; on the left arm was a large metal shield and on the right was some kind of gauntlet with three metal fin-like portions that extended forward from the limb, the weapon flared to life and projected a large beam of energy out into a stable blade which the mech flourished once before raising the shield on its left arm which unfolded to reveal that it was actually larger then it first appeared and was now projecting an energy barrier over its own surface.

"Round Eight! FIGHT!"

The humanoid machine launched forward and raised it's blade while Rachel groaned and prepared to continue her fight for survival.

**Planet Chimera: The Battle Zone: Northern Europe Wilderness Sector.**

Hale stared at the portal on the opposite side of the base he had tracked his Russian enemies to, killing many of them in the process. "Guessing that's where I'm supposed to go, and only about three hundred soldiers and a couple of tanks between me and the 'exit', easy, right."

Nathan spent a few minutes searching for a way to sneak through the base without having to get into a full blown firefight with the Russians but in the end it was futile, he had no choice but to reveal his presence while less then a fourth of the way to his destination. _"Good News: Four of them are down. Bad News: The other two-hundred-ninety-six know I'm here."_

The Chimera hybrid ducked behind the nearest convenient wall and tossed one of the grenades he had picked up toward a watchtower, a satisfying crash confirming that he had not only hit his target but that the small explosive had damaged the structure just right to bring it crashing down. _"That's good but it was luck, can't count on that continuing."_

What the hybrid found most unpleasant about the situation was the fact that the Russian soldiers never spoke, they seemed to be receiving and giving orders, they obviously warned each other where he was and what he was doing, but not one of them ever made any noise other then grunts of pain when shot.

_"Halfway there and two tanks waiting for me to stick my head out so they can blow it off, wonderful."_ Hale maneuvered around so that one tank would be blocking the other from aiming at him, once he was safe from that, and had killed several more soldiers, Nathan stepped out of cover and hoped he was faster then whoever was aiming the tanks cannon.

The American was glad to note that while he was no where near as powerful as he had been after killing Daedalus he had apparently regained some of his lost power since fighting that robot with Rachel. It was difficult but Nathan was able to lift and tilt the first tank so that it could not fire at him, once that was done he lifted it higher and dropped it on top of the other vehicle.

With the tanks dealt with Nathan made a dash for the portal but was stopped by an explosion knocking him off his feet. Hale rolled across the ground and came to his feet facing the direction from which the explosion had originated; the cause was a group of five Russian soldiers with rocket launchers, he couldn't say what sort since he had never been interested in the weapons used by people he would never meet since the Chimera had wiped them out.

The soldier who had fired the shot that missed and knocked the Lieutenant down finished reloading and all seven of the soldiers took aim and fired. Hale took a deep breath and hoped he wasn't pushing his luck and power; when the rockets were within twenty feet of him Nathan caught them, all seven projectiles stopped and were suspended in midair, though the man holding them there could tell they were still moving forward to a degree.

"I think these are yours!" Hale flipped the rockets around and released them, pushing them faster with a thought to be sure they would reach their new targets. Nathan didn't wait to see if the explosions he heard had ended the seven men, he just sprinted the last few feet to the portal and dove through.

**Planet Chimera: E.D.N III Desert Sector: Railway Gun.**

"Okay I get it, you're hungry, so open wide ugly." Alec finished turning the gun and fired just in time to put the last shell straight down the giant monsters throat.

Alec wasn't surprised that the thing didn't die quietly, nothing it had done since its arrival had been quiet, he wasn't surprised to see more of that orange goo fly out of it either, what did surprise him was the couple dozen orange rotating boxes that also flew out of the dying monsters body along with the orange jello that seemed to serve as the things blood.

One of the boxes nearly landed on Alec who caught it out of curiosity, the box popped open and revealed what appeared to be part of a gun inside it. Alec pulled, to his surprise, a large weapon he had never seen before out of the box that couldn't have actually contained the much larger object. Along with the weapon was a small thin book with the letters 'BFG' on the front over a picture of the weapon, it looked like an owners manual.

Alec set the gun and book down and grabbed the nearest box, he figured that as weird as things had been so far it wouldn't hurt to just go along with it. The second box contained an item he couldn't identify that looked like it was supposed to be attached to a weapon somehow, setting that aside the war hero chose another box to investigate.

The next box bothered Alec, being a Martian he wasn't happy to find a video labeled 'Mars Attacks' in the box. The fourth box encouraged him just as much as the third had upset him, the fourth contained a mechanical gauntlet like object that Alec doubted was just for show and hoped to examine further later.

Box number five again bothered the former rebel leader when he found another video, this one labeled 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'. Dropping the movie to the ground Alec grabbed another box and opened it, staring blankly at the contents afterward; how's one supposed to react to finding a twenty-five pound ready to cook turkey in the middle of a desert, never mind how he had acquired the box which contained the dead bird.

"Yeah sorry about that, I know it's just bizarre but GLaDOS has a weird sense of humor. At least I think she was just messing with you with the movies and the turkey, with her it's hard to tell." Alec turned and had a shotgun aimed at the speakers face almost the moment he heard their voice. "I'll be honest it's been a while since someone put a gun to my head, I kinda missed it."

"Guessing you're not another nutcase that wants me dead, mind telling me why you're here, and while you're at it how you got on the train without me noticing."

"I teleported here, Alex makes sure we can all do that, those of us working directly for him anyway, you just get a dimension jumping ship. I...Okay this is going to sound weird but could you at least try to shoot me, it can get really boring when no one even tries to kill you, so come on pull the trigger."

"Wha-?"

The apparent lunatic suddenly pulled a gun out of their coat and fired, just barely missing Alec who responded reflexively by shooting them in the face. "That's better, didn't hurt but it's better then nothing." The individual stood back up, having leaned almost impossibly far backward when shot, and slipped their own gun back into their coat.

"Alright, the abominable snow men, giant worms, crazy guys and whatever the hell that thing back there was I can handle but how the hell are you still alive?" Alec put away the shotgun and aimed the BFG at the person who he had just noticed he couldn't really peg as male or female.

"I'm bulletproof?" A shrug and smirk accompanied the question. "Anyway, nice to meet you Alec, I'm The Boss." The Boss held out a hand to Alec and smiled.

"You're in charge of this place?"

"Did I say that? No, I said I'm The Boss, same way you're Alec Mason."

"Your name's The Boss?"

The intercom on the train responded. **"No, Their Real Name Is-"**

"GLaDOS don't you dare! Alex promised me you wouldn't tell anyone else!"

**"Alex Said He Wouldn't Tell Anyone, He Never Said I Wouldn't."**

_**"GLaDOS behave, you know perfectly well what I meant, stop teasing The Boss and get back to work."**_

The intercom went silent and The Boss exhaled in an exaggerated manner. "Okay then, with that bit of comedy out of the way let's move along. Okay, you past my test and didn't even know you were being tested, pretty sweet right? Now normally I would just let you chill here and rest until the train reaches its' destination, but, since you're still pretty far from the station I'm going to give you some more S.T.A.G jerks to play with, try not to die that would look bad and I don't want Alex mad at me, don't know where he sent Freddie and I don't want to find out so if at all possible don't get yourself killed okay."

Before he could question The Boss they disappeared, leaving Alec staring at the passing desert landscape, only to be distracted moments later by a laser just barely missing his head.

**Need to stop here, don't want to but I have to. To much jumping around and to many ideas going through my head to focus. I have more that's happening but I can't type it all out at the moment since it's the basics of the scenes and I'm getting lost as it is at the moment, so there will be more to this but for the moment this is going to have to do.**

**Sorry again to those who actually read this if it isn't that good and that it took a while to get it posted even though the chapter isn't technically finished.**

Hob the Apologetic Robot.


	26. Ninja's Souls

**Replaying Demon's Souls. Thinking about Naruto crossovers. Wanting to update Evolution Personified. Result: This.**

**I own nothing.**

**This is just one of the ways I thought of that this could go.**

**Sealed Chamber**

Naruto Uzumaki woke with a start, unsure what had shocked him awake. Team Seven had only returned to the village one day ago and he had been looking forward to sleeping in on the day off they'd been given. He leapt to his feet when he noticed that the ceiling above him wasn't his own.

The young ninja was shocked to see eight familiar faces all glancing about in just as much confusion as he himself was. Except Shikamaru, he just looked annoyed. The three girls present had noticed before the boys of the group that they were all still in their pajamas and had wrapped the blankets of the beds they awoke in around themselves.

"What's going on? What all of you doing here?" Naruto shouted, hesitating a minute before adding. "Where is here anyway?"

"Genjutsu?" Shikamaru suggested through a bored yawn. His attitude didn't fool Choji who could practically see the theories flying through his friends head.

With the exception of Naruto, all genin present attempted to dispel any illusion they may be under.

"KAI!"

Nothing changed.

"Nothing happened." Naruto pointed out.

"We can see that, Naruto!" Sakura shouted across the room.

While Sakura and Ino alternated between arguing with each other and trying to get Sasuke's opinion of the situation, Shikamaru, Shino and Choji made a circle around the room with Hinata trailing along at Shikamaru's request. The group made a full circle of the room, examining the walls in every way they were able and came to a halt back where they started.

"Anything?" Shikamaru asked, turning to Hinata.

"N-no. I can't see through it anywhere."

"My insects found no openings." Shino reported calmly, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Alright." Shikamaru knelt down and assumed his thinking pose, drawing a raised eyebrow from Shino before Choji explained.

Several minutes later Shikamaru called all the others to the center of the room.

"Other than the obvious fact that there doesn't seem to be a way out of here I can't figure out anything with what little information we have. Did any of you do anything weird before you went to bed?"

"What's that have to do with anything?" Ino snapped.

"We're still alive. We're trapped in a perfectly cube shaped room where a Hyuga can't see through the walls. There are no doors or windows. All nine of us are from the most recently graduated academy class. None of us know anything that an enemy ninja may want to know. Hinata and Sasuke still have both their eyes. This isn't a genjutsu, at least not one we can break. None of us have done anything out of character or said anything I wouldn't have expected so I'm reasonably sure we're all who we seem to be."

"So you think one of us got us all trapped here?" Naruto and Kiba asked almost simultaneously, both sounding highly offended.

"Not necessarily. It's just one possibility. Does anyone remember anything out the ordinary that happened before you went to bed? Or after?" Shikamaru asked, glancing around the group.

"After?" Sakura repeated, blinking. "Like a dream?"

"AHA!" Naruto shouted, startling everyone as he jumped to his feet. "I remember something! I think it was a dream or something. I was somewhere really dark and I heard this voice-"

"Chanting?" Shikamaru asked, though it sounded like he wasn't the least bit surprised.

"Now that you mention it-" Ino said, tilting her head and placing her hand under her chin.

"Yeah, I thought it was just a weird dream." Sakura nodded, confirming that she'd heard something similar.

Shikamaru sighed and recited what he remembered hearing just before waking up.

"Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted so the world might be mended. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted so the world might be mended, so the world might be mended."

All nine genin nodded, even Shikamaru, in confirmation that that was what they had heard just before waking up. Seconds later all nine nearly panicked as each began to disappear in a cloud of greenish mist.

**The Ninth Gate**

"Welcome, brave young soul. I have awaited thee."

Naruto spun around, looking for the source of the voice and finding a woman in black standing at the foot of a flight of stairs. Before he could address the woman his attention was drawn up and behind her to the massive tower rising into the sky. In either direction all he could see was the wall of the tower extending to his left and right.

"What? Where? What's going on?" Naruto snapped his eyes back to the woman and took a stance, forgetting that he had no weapons on him and coming up empty handed when he reached for a kunai. "Where are the others? Did you bring us here?"

"Thy companions are each on their way into the tower. Thou shalt be the ninth to begin the trial if thou dost accept the task my master has set before thee."

"What trial?"

"A great many demons make their home within the tower. My master has chosen thee, and thy companions, to enter the tower and slay these demons. I shall await thee on every tenth floor, bring to me the souls of those demons and I shall grant thee the power thou shalt require to proceed beyond the next gate."

"And the others already agreed to go in there? Why?" Naruto knew he wasn't an academic genius or anything, but he knew enough to be suspicious of the situation.

"Each of them asked much the same. They chose to proceed simply because, regrettably, I lack the power to return thee to thine own world. The only path that will lead thee home lies above, at the top of the tower is the gateway that shall return thee home."

"You brought us here but can't send us back?" Naruto demanded, clearly angry.

"I had no choice. My master commanded that the nine of you be brought to face the demons. I have not the power nor any desire to refuse his orders." The Maiden responded calmly, unshaken by the boys anger.

"If your boss is so powerful why doesn't he get rid of the demons in there? Why's he want us to do it?"

"I do not know. My master sent me here, and empowered me to bring those he selected here to enter the tower. Why he created the tower and the demons within I do not know, nor do I know why you nine were chosen for this task."

"Hey! Can you see?" Naruto exclaimed, veering wildly off topic before fully registering what had been said. He vaguely wondered how he had missed the patches of wax covering the woman's eyes until just then.

"Yes, I can see." The Maiden answered the question without hesitation.

"That's not important!" Naruto shouted, more at himself than at her. "Your boss made the demons he's sending us to fight?"

"Yes. As he has visited your world many times, my master came to the world where I was born, a world plagued by demons who served the Old One. My master chose to hunt the demons, slaying each in turn and consuming them, claiming all of their power as his own. How it came to pass is a story I have not the time to tell, but my master finally faced the Old One and consumed it as well, and so I am tied to him." The Maiden turned and walked to the top of the stairs.

"I know only so much, and I am not permitted to reveal all that I know. My master is able to recreate the demons he consumed and others who I never knew existed. Now then, please make thy choice; will thou remain here in this world forever, or will thou enter the tower and face the demons alongside the other eight chosen souls?" The Maiden asked, turning and looking down at Naruto.

"Damn it!" Naruto snarled, the expression of anger quickly being replaced by a determined and excited look. "Guess I don't really have a choice. I can't leave those guys alone after all, they'd be helpless without me. And I can't let Sasuke say he's killed more demons than me!"

Naruto leapt forward, clearing the steps altogether and landing at the top right beside the Maiden. Ahead of him he saw a wide walkway leading to a massive gate in the side of the tower wall, between that gate and where he stood was a single armored man wreathed in black smoke.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked, turning a questioning look to the Maiden.

"A Phantom created to bar thy path. To proceed thou must slay him and claim his soul to gain access to the tower."

Naruto hesitated at that and the Maiden picked up on it.

"It is merely one of the demons you must face if you wish to return home."

"What?" Naruto shouted, attempting to get in the Maiden's face. "That's one of these big bad demons we're supposed to kill? I was expecting something more like...well, the Nine Tails or something!"

"The Phantom is just the first, and one of the weakest of the demons thou shalt face within the tower. Even so, thou should not underestimate a demon regardless of it's appearance. In the tower thou might well meet another Phantom with far greater power than this one wields." The Maiden cautioned.

"Hm? Well, alright." Naruto shrugged. "So I've just got to take out this one and then I can go in?"

"That is correct."

"Alright! Let's do it!" Naruto shouted, preparing to rush forward but stumbling when the Maiden called out to him again.

"Wait. Thou are not yet prepared."

"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded.

"It would be foolish to face even this demon with nothing save thy fists as weapons and such simple cloth as armor."

Naruto glanced down and realized he was still in his pajamas. He scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"Nothing to worry about, I heal fast. Besides, I'm sure I'm strong enough to take this guy."

"Perhaps thou speak the truth, but even so..."

Naruto took half a step back as the Maiden put her open palm just inches from his forehead before a white glow enveloped him. When the light faded he found himself in leather armor with an axe at his side and a wooden shield on his left arm.

"Huh? You can just make clothes out of thin air?"

"No. I merely brought it here and altered it to fit thee." The Maiden said, reaching out and grabbing Naruto's right arm. "One last thing, thou shalt have need of this if thou are to collect the souls of demons."

A ball of light flared around his arm where her hand had touched him and faded to reveal a silver band with a black jewel set in the top. The band was covered in a multitude of small symbols Naruto didn't think he'd ever seen before.

"Each time thou slays a demon, it's soul shall be contained within this band." The Maiden explained before gesturing toward the tower. "Now, if thou art prepared, proceed."

"Heh. Alright!" Naruto shouted and leapt forward, wrestling the axe out of it's loop on his belt and rushing toward the Phantom.

As he closed in on the minor demon, Naruto wasn't surprised to see it withdraw a sword from the sheath at it's hip. He was surprised to see fire engulf the long blade before the Phantom took one step forward and swung the weapon, sending a wave of fire toward the young ninja.

"Yikes! HOT! HOT!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and to his left to avoid the flames. "Alright you-oh my god!"

The boy stumbled back, narrowly avoiding a downward slash from the still flaming blade. The Phantom gave no pause, it continued moving forward and kept on slashing at the rapidly retreating boy.

Naruto leapt high into the air, avoiding another wave of fire, and brought his hands together awkwardly while still holding his axe.

"Alright!" He shouted, "You asked for it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke exploded into being and cleared to reveal twenty identical young ninja all wielding axe and shield. Even outnumbered, however, the Phantom was still able to fight off Naruto's attacks; flaming sword met axe swings and shield strikes on all sides, deflecting most attacks and dispelling several clones.

"Gotcha!" Naruto shouted, ramming shoulder first into the Phantom. While the demon was off balance another Naruto brought it's axe down, burying the blade in the armored left shoulder before another clone lodged it's own axe in the demon's side.

The Phantom roared and was engulfed in fire, dispelling all the remaining clones and singeing the real Naruto as he retreated out of range of the sudden inferno. The fire died down moments later and the Phantom charged again, ignoring the black blood leaking from it's wounds.

"Okay then! Try this!" Naruto shouted, forming ten more clones. All ten shadow clones drew back their right arms and threw their axes at the demon before hurling their shields like frisbees.

The clone weapons were met by a wave of fire and dispelled. The Phantom itself grunted in surprise when the ten clones rushed in under the fire and tackled it to the ground, wrestling it's sword away from it and raining punches and kicks on it before it was again engulfed in fire.

As the demon climbed to it's feet, searching around for it's sword, it was aware that it didn't see the boy anywhere. Seconds later, the Phantom roared in pain and looked down to see a flaming blade protruding from it's chest.

"Looking for this?" Naruto asked, grinning from ear to ear behind the demon's back. He stepped back, releasing the blade and retrieving his own axe before slamming the weapon down on the demon's head.

An inhuman roar nearly deafened Naruto as the Phantom's body flared a sickly green color and dissolved. Countless specks of light flew from the dissolving body and into the black jewel on the silver band, eliciting a startled shout from Naruto.

"Wow. Heh. That was easier than I thought it would be!" Naruto chuckled to himself. He placed the axe back in it's loop on his belt and headed for the gate.

The young ninja was surprised to see the Maiden waiting for him in front of the massive door, which now that he was closer he could see was made of thick, colorless fog.

"How'd you get over here so fast? You couldn't have snuck by while I was fighting that thing."

"Distance is no obstacle to one with proper knowledge." She answered calmly. "Now; dost thou seek to enter the tower?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that again?" Naruto grumbled, hands on his hips. "Of course I'm going in!"

"Very well. The Phantom's soul?" She asked, holding out her right hand.

"Oh, ah? How do-" Naruto stuttered, looking at his hand and trying to figure out how to remove the soul from the gem on the band. A stream of light suddenly rushed out the jewel and formed into a flickering orb in his palm. "Woah!"

The Maiden calmly took the soul from the young ninja and clasped both hands around it, hiding it's light from view. The air around her seemed to darken for a moment before she opened her hands to reveal the soul, it now seemed almost as colorless as the fog barring entry to the tower.

"Now, claim this ownerless soul as thine own."

Naruto hesitantly reached out, closing his right hand over grey orb of light. The Maiden closed her hands around his suddenly and spoke.

"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from it's vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended."

Naruto felt a cool sensation he couldn't explain and wasn't really surprised to see the soul gone when the Maiden released his hand.

"Thou hast gained the power needed to pass beyond this minor barrier. Bring to me such souls as that one, and I shall grant thee strength to aid thee in thy future battles."

"O-okay. So...I can go in now?" Naruto asked, slightly shaken for reasons he didn't understand.

"Yes." The Maiden said, halting him a second later. "One final warning. Do not try to claim the mature soul of a demon as you would claim lesser souls. Such souls may grant thee a power beyond human comprehension, but at the price of thine humanity. Now go, slayer of demons, and join thy companions within the tower. I shall await thee above."

Naruto nodded, fixing a determined expression on his face and walked up to the wall of colorless fog. He placed his hand against it and found a small measure of resistance, as though he were trying to walk through gelatin. He continued forward and stepped through, leaving the Maiden behind and entering the tower.

**Demon's Tower: Floor One. (Setting: Medieval City and Countryside. Master: Tower Knight. Main Force: Undead Soldiers (50,000). Secondary Demon/s: Phalanx (3). Taurus Demon (4). Minor Demon/s: Black Phantom (10). Slime (150). Vanguard (4).)**

Naruto stumbled out of the fog and quickly glanced around, making sure he wasn't in any immediate danger.

"What the-!" He stopped short and simply stared out at the countryside and the city in the distance. He could see two small towns to his right and left, each surrounded by farm fields and all under a near cloudless blue sky.

The young ninja spun around to find a wall of solid stone carved in the shape of a gate behind him. An amateurish investigation revealed that it was part of a small cluster of ruined buildings and that there was nothing but open fields beyond it leading to a cliff overlooking the ocean.

"I'm inside the tower, right?" Naruto asked the empty air around him. "Guess it doesn't matter. I gotta find the others and make sure they haven't started taking out demons without me!"

**Massive Skip-**

**Demon's Tower: Final Floor (One Hundredth). Setting: Ancient Altar. Master: The Maiden in Black. Main Force: Black Phantom (Summoned; Numbers Limitless).**

The nine young ninja all stepped through the gate and found themselves in an enormous room. A high ceiling supported by tree sized stone columns could just barely be seen high above them. Through the large windows set in the walls they could see a thunderstorm raging outside but they heard no thunder and no rain passed through the bare openings in the stone.

On either side of the room was a staircase leading to a balcony walkway that circled either side of the walls while in the center was a simple stone altar, beyond that was a massive set of stone doors nearly as high as the ceiling. Upon the altar sat the Maiden.

"Welcome, young slayers of demons. All of thee have done well to reach this point. I hope that thine efforts were not wasted."

"What?" All nine asked some variation of Naruto's simple, single word exclamation.

"This final gate can not be opened until the final demon residing within this tower is slain."

"You mean we missed one?" Kiba asked.

"No." Shikamaru spoke up. "We didn't miss any of them, we just haven't fought the last one yet. This is the last floor so that means-"

"Correct." The Maiden confirmed before Shikamaru had even finished speaking. "I am the last demon thou must vanquish to open the final gate and return to thine world."

"What!?" Naruto and Sakura shouted simultaneously.

Sasuke grunted and took a modified stance, drawing his sword. Kiba did likewise, Akamaru preparing to fight as well. Ino and Hinata hesitated to move, while neither could say they were friends with the woman, they couldn't at this point convince themselves that she was an enemy.

Shino calmly retrieved his knives, he had discovered early on that his bugs, and he himself, were negatively affected by absorbing what passed for a demon's chakra.

Choji and Shikamaru both were prepared to fight as well, only four of the nine still hadn't drawn weapons.

"You can't be serious!" Naruto shouted. "You helped us get all the way up here and now we're supposed to believe you're gonna try to kill us?"

"I am sorry. Pray forgive me. I must do as I was instructed and serve as thine final opponent. Now come, slayers of demon's, show me thy strength." The Maiden drew her right hand in front of her face as she spoke. A red light flared from her palm and the wax over her eyes melted away.

Blindingly gold eyes opened, pupils nothing more than slits in the center, staring at the nine ninja with an apologetic expression. The Maiden stood from the altar and rose into the air, not unlike the Fool's Idol's they had faced before.

As Naruto and the girls scrambled to retrieve their weapons, the Maiden raised one hand into the air, drifting almost casually out of the way of any projectiles sent her way by the less hesitant of the group. A ball of fire flared to life in her hand, growing to four times it's original size almost instantly before she calmly tossed it towards them.

The group scattered, Kiba and Akamaru narrowly escaping the explosion that the fireball released. A pair of smaller fireballs further separated the group as the Maiden pointed the small flame on her staff at the floor. Five white souls flew from the staff and stopped just four feet above the floor, black smoke coalesced around the souls and solidified, leaving five Black Phantoms armed with swords and shields standing below the Maiden.

**Not Quite The End**

**Okay then, explanation time.**

**Alex visited the Demon's Souls multiverse and, at some point, went through as if he were a Player Character and consumed all of the demons, up to and including the Old One.**

**Here, he sent the Maiden in Black to a pocket dimension and had her bring the Rookie Nine there to fight their way to the top floor of a tower that contains one hundred more pocket dimensions which serve as the floors of the tower. Why? Any number of reasons, I'm not going to give a specific one so as to not ruin any ideas anyone reading this may have had.**

**The tower has multiples of demons from both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Arch Demons such as the Dragon God or Storm King are still one of a kind and would only be fought once if at all. In the case of the Dragon God it would be in the open without those giant spears to restrain it and so would lose it's game mechanics invulnerability, being reduced to just being insanely durable and having really high 'health.' The Storm King I think ought to have lightning related magic to fit his name rather than just volleying his enemies with giant stingray barbs, give him the Great Lightning Spear miracle from Dark Souls or something.**

**In the tower the kids could also encounter Yuria the Witch or others from either Demon's Souls or Dark Souls who might be employed by Alex. In Yuria's case she would serve basically the same purpose she does in Demon's Souls, able to teach modified spells that function like Naruto-verse jutsu, if the kids are willing to stick around long enough to learn what she has to teach them and as long as they can afford the 'cost' of the technique.**

**Such 'NPCs' would still require souls as payment for services, just not nearly as many as in game. One Undead Soldier gets the one that killed it one soul only. Units of the Main Force category respawn given time but will never exceed the original number present on the floor.**

**I made Naruto start with Demon's Souls Hunter class gear for no real reason, if anyone wanted to write out the trip through the tower they could change that and decide what class each of the nine start out as themselves.**

**The Maiden is the last demon in the tower and the most powerful they will fight. She is capable of any spell/miracle from either game and variations of those. Example: Great Fireball x4, which she used at the start of the fight at the end there, it's four Great Fireballs merged and fired as one. Just imagine her as the Secret Boss of a game, the one that's more powerful than the story modes final boss. She is limited to a level where they can conceivably beat her, but odds are she will kill all of them at least once before they manage it.**

**Dying in the tower is the same as dying in Demon's Souls. They lose all the souls they have at the time and are reduced to soul form which cuts their speed, strength, chakra, etc in half. To be resurrected they have to sacrifice one hundred souls, which of course they would have to acquire while in soul form or get to where they died and retrieve the souls they lost, if one of the others didn't decide to take them. How and when they find out about the dying thing is anyone's guess.**

**Anyway, hope this is worth the time it took me to write it and the time it took you to read it.**


	27. Chapter 27

**I own (Dramatic Pause) NOTHING!**

**Okay, back to Chimera and our various resurrected heroes, former outlaw, Problem Solver, Not-Villian, and Rapture's Not-Messiah.**

**In this chapter is an awesome song, parts of it, by Miracle of Sound. The song is Little Sister and was chosen for Delta for obvious reasons. I claim no ownership of the song but would recommend that you check it and those from the same source because they are quite good.**

**We Will Begin With Ace and Delta still in L's maze/puzzle box/funhouse thing. L is from the manga/anime Death Note for those not already aware, he's almost never not eating something composed primarily of sugar. Alma Wade is assisting L by forcing Ace to defend herself and Delta from progressively more powerful and complex psychic attacks. This Alma was raised by Alex without going through the events of the F.E.A.R series, as a result she is...off, but not the same kind/level of crazy canon Alma is.**

**Planet Chimera: L's Test Chamber.**

Alma sat on her swing, watching the younger psychic rearrange the battlefield between them. Her own mental field was composed of forests and fields and a small town outside a much larger city. It was mostly intact with only the very edges having been scarred by the full blown war simulation the battle had become.

Ace maintained the stream of psychic energy that was holding back Alma's own sustained psi beam. She doubted that the older girl would kill her, but knew that it wouldn't be good regardless if she let the beam hit her. Her own blast was being pushed back steadily inch by inch as Alma gradually increased the power behind her own attack.

The younger of the two had made her field out of a combination of Las Vegas and Metropolis with random wilderness dotting the combined city, they were the easiest things for her to picture and manifest since she was extremely familiar with them. The city was in ruins and getting worse every second. Her soldiers and tanks were no match for those manifested by Alma and she couldn't track the nightmare creatures that seemed to appear at random to aid Alma's military constructs.

Alma smiled when Ace lashed out at the invaders in her city. Steel spikes erupted from the ground to impale soldiers or impede vehicles. Lightning struck from the sky to knock helicopters and jets out of the air. It was the apparent effort it cost her that was the source of Alma's amusement.

That, and the fact the opposing beams of energy had moved a great deal closer to Ace since she had begun exerting her power on the battlefield so directly.

"You need to focus more. You aren't as strong as me, but you should be doing better than this all the same. I don't think you ever received proper psionic training, did you?" Alma said across the miles of distance between the two.

"You're distracting me! How am I supposed to focus-" said Ace, before cutting herself off when the beams' collision point began sliding toward her more rapidly.

Ace let large areas of her field vanish and threw all the power the action freed up into repelling Alma's psionic beam. She was able to push it back a fair distance before Alma matched her power again and resumed gradually forcing the beams back to Ace's position.

"Like I said: focus." Alma smiled, her hair parting to reveal blood red orbs for eyes and a wicked grin.

Delta mulled it over in his head. Again and again he asked himself the very same quandary the riddle etched onto the raised platform at the center of the room presented.

"_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder?"_

Delta was no lummox. His experience in Rapture and through all of the other puzzles in this out of place structure had taught even himself that much.

But damn it did riddles like these go over his head!

No small feat when you consider he's over seven feet tall.

Standing there, frozen like a statue, he said it in his head again. "_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder?" _

He closed his eyes.

"_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder?" _

Whatever ground Ace had managed to gain back in the beam-o-war she was having with Alma had long since been lost again with the approaching beam getting ever closer.

In acts of desperation, Ace began cannibalizing her mental projections. Portions of buildings, infantryman, Humvees, tanks, helicopters, and planes were sent to the aether, their energy placed back into Ace's beam. At most, this gradual cannibalization bought her seconds before she was trapped in the same predicament once more.

Then, a thought came to her.

As quickly as she could, she cannibalized all of her remaining projections, their energy surging into her beam at once. Like the Tidal wave that break's a dam, the sudden increase seemed to take Alma by surprise, and the older psychic was consumed by it along with her own projections.

In a different sense, so too, was Ace. Collapsing onto the nothingness below her feet, she panted, her face sweating like torrential rain. "_I may feel like I just ran a marathon on Jupiter, but at least-"_

That was when she saw it. From the nothing, Alma's battlefield reappeared like a mirage. It's creator was not too far behind.

"I have to say: taking advantage of my confidence and complacency and overwhelming me with a sudden, unexpected move like that was impressive. You're really improving." Alma stopped swinging on her swing and put a finger to her chin. "However, you're still just performing the mental equivalent of hitting something with a hammer until it breaks or is the shape you want. As I've been told by Alex, it was your lack of familiarity with all of the subtleties involved in being psionic that gave you the express pass to Chimera...and _me_."

Out of her mind's eye, Ace thought she heard something growl behind her. Turning though, she found nothing but more black. More nothingness.

"It's also why you're going to lose our lovely little..._game_."

Delta's eyes flashed open when he felt a familiar stabbing sensation in his brain that he had felt too many times in the past few minutes and heard Ace's cries of agony.

"Delta! Hurry!" she said.

Now, Delta could no longer keep still. Instead, he found himself pacing around the platform, muttering the riddle to himself like a madman, hoping that such repetition would reveal the answer.

"_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder? What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder? What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder!?"_

Whatever the answer was to this stupid, confounded, convoluted riddle, trying to find it was giving Delta more rage than wonder.

She had brought up her psi shields in the nick of time. That didn't stop Alma's nightmare creatures from straining them to the best of their abilities with gnarled teeth, claws, acid, spines, and tails.

After what seemed like hours of gritting her teeth and yelling out, Ace decided that she had enough, and lashed out with an assault of her own. It took the form of a psionic wave of force that annihilated them and her shields at the same time.

Spent, she didn't have time to rest before she noticed a shadow descend upon her (which was impressive, considering how black this mindscape already was). She looked up to see Alma, now the size of a skyscraper, standing with her index finger pointed right at her.

"Like I said: you lose."

A beam of mental energy poured out from said finger.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Delta stopped, sounding not unlike a car when the brakes were slammed. "Ace!"

He ran over towards the girl, who now lay unconscious on the ground,and held her limp body in his arms. His eyes, for the first time since his 'death,' flared a bright and menacing red.

"Hm? Alright," the voice over the intercom, still nameless, said as if to someone else. "Delta, GLaDOS suggested you may like this song, specifically, about halfway through. I think she may be enjoying the return of her radio privileges a bit too much though."

Music began playing, drowning out anything else the man had to say.

_I walk through the water with my only friend_

_We search for dead angels, on each other depend_

_I'll follow her lead now wherever she'll go_

_Little sister, you're all that I know_

_Little sister, you're all that I know_

Delta stood, still holding Ace, and snarled at the room itself. He knew perfectly well that the song was specifically directed at him. Lightning began arcing from his arms, joined almost instantly by fire. Neither Plasmid harmed Ace.

_And I dream of the sea_

_Broken machinery_

_And I dream of the sea_

_There's no rapture for me_

_(walk through the water with my only friend_

_search for dead angels on each other depend)_

The haunting music continued as Delta roared, a sound not suited to a human but perfectly natural for a Big Daddy. Without releasing his hold on Ace he lashed out in all directions, lightning and fire blasted at the walls. The pure force of telekinesis battered the platform where the thrice damned riddle was inscribed. Ice spread around his feet and angry hornets swarmed out of his body to buzz madly around the room searching for something they could sting, something for Delta to hurt.

_And I dream of the sea_

_Broken machinery_

_And I dream of the sea_

_There's no rapture for me_

_(walk through the water with my only friend_

_search for dead angels on each other depend)_

Though he still hated the city, at least things had been simpler in Rapture.

"_I could fight there, kill there. Any threat was simple in Rapture! I can't hurt a bloody riddle!"_

Delta continued to turn randomly, searching for anything he could damage or destroy. Even after his Eve was exhausted and his powers ceased their assault on the room itself, he continued to roar and rage at the world around him.

It was then, that the stabbing sensation in his brain returned tenfold as greatly as it had ever been, bringing him down to all fours.

"Now now Delta. I know it's hard for someone so used to solving their problems by "killing it with fire", as the kids say these days, but I'm afraid that the only way you and Ace get to make it out of this situation alive is if you properly apply your mind to solving Mr. Nigma's riddle before Ms. Wade turns you both into vegetables," the still unnamed voice said. "I don't like vegetables. Just ask anyone here. So, my advice to you would be to let go of that pre-programmed anger you have boiling inside, and focus at the task at hand. Otherwise, to be frank, I'll have to clean up the mess."

Delta didn't know who the voice on the other end was or where he was, but he swore at that moment, that if he ever saw him, he'd deck him with all his might. Not just because of how annoying he was, but because of how...right he was.

He had wasted enough time thinking about how much simpler Rapture was and taking his aggression out on nothing.

So, he sat on the ground, one of his legs crossed over the other, and focussed on the riddle. Only on the riddle.

"_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder? What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder? "What tells a-"_

He felt the stabbing sensation again, now leaning on both his elbows.

"_What tells a story, but has no logic, happens fast, yet remains with you, and creates only wonder? What-"_

He felt the stabbing sensation again, and was now sprawled against the floor.

"_What tells a story-"_

He felt it again.

"_Has no logic-"_

And again.

"_Happens fast-"_

And again.

"_Remains with you-"_

_And again._

"_-and creates only wonder?" _

His eyes had long since stopped tearing up, and were now leaking blood.

It was then though, when his eyes were literally seeing red, that it came to him. He could feel the presence in his mind stop her next onslaught mid-way as his mind echoed with a single thought. "_A riddle."_

With the speed of a turtle, he got to his feet, and said both words aloud, as a whisper. "A riddle."

"Uh, say that-"

"A riddle! A riddle! A bloody god damned and sent to bloody perdition riddle you sick, twisted, son of a bitch!" Delta yelled out to the voice. He fell back onto his back a moment later, unable to remain standing any longer.

For a while, there was silence. Delta wasn't sure if anything was happening in the room. The last attack before he came to his answer had popped the capillaries in his eyes and rendered him blind.

It was then, out of nowhere, that he felt something lightly brush his skin just below his still bleeding right eye. A quick inspection, limited to only touch, convinced him it was a small scrap of paper. He could feel more of them landing on him now and wasn't sure what to think of the oddity. The sound of trumpets suddenly filling the room with a triumphant blast of music was almost enough to shock him to his feet. His muscles didn't seem to be working correctly though, so he just sort of twitched like a fish out of water.

"Congratulations Delta. You have passed the test of the-the, ummm...Alma what-" The voice got quiet, not clearly audible over the intercom, but continued speaking.

"I don't know-Me to help you-"

"I hadn't really-Perhaps the-

"No, that's-something more-"

"That doesn't really capture the-"

"I'd have brought a list if you'd- Maybe mix up the three and-"

"-No, that's too convoluted-Would they even understand the reference?"

"**Whatever you are going to call it, I would suggest you figure it out quickly and repair the damage you did. I don't want to have to clone them both again so soon, so do try to keep them alive,"** GLaDOS chimed in suddenly, sounding mildly annoyed.

"Alright, fine!" said the still unnamed voice. He made a sound that was like coughing into his hand and said, "Ms. Wade and I have reached an agreement, and have decided that you have officially passed the test of the "The Awesometackular Tesseract of Erakus with love from Canterlot."

Delta stretched the muscles on his face to convey how utterly baffled and livid he was.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! That last part was Alma's idea, not mine! She's watching way too many ponies on t.v. as of late. Speaking of -"

"What?" The psychic questioned, conveying quite well what expression she was directing at her equally unseen compatriot. "Oh, right. Fix them."

The last word was spoken from inside the room, only several feet from Delta's head. He didn't bother to try and see Alma, being blind and all, but he didn't need to see her to point a lightning charged hand at her, as long as he didn't fire he could maintain the threat without draining what little Eve he had regenerated in the last few minutes.

"Calm down. The test is over so I'm going to fix you two." As she spoke Delta could tell she was moving to stand between him and the still unconscious Ace. "This might tingle a little. Try to ignore any strange impulses you may feel. That's just your brain rewiring itself since I knocked a few things loose before. Sorry by the way."

An odd sensation crept over Delta, and he assumed Ace would be feeling the same if she were aware of her surroundings. It was similar to the sensation he had experienced when using a "Med Hypo" from a first aid kit to heal himself in Rapture. Less than a minute later he could see again and was able to push himself to his feet, though it still hurt to move.

"You'll be fine in a few minutes as long as you don't overwork yourself," a young woman in a red dress told him. Clearly, it was Alma. "Oh, Ace is awake."

"What happen-ARGH!" Ace practically roared and hurled a blast of pure force at Alma the moment she saw her. The wave of power parted around the more experienced psychic and she just grinned back.

"Still recovering I see. You should wait a while before trying to fight me again," Alma told Ace cheerily.

The door on the other side of the room opened, revealing a forest that was clearly not on Mars, or the imitation of Mars they had entered the maze from.

"Time to get moving. You can pick up your prizes on the way out. I've got other things to do, so L will have to finish up here. Bye!" Alma smiled at them and flickered, disappearing completely without warning.

The two remained there for a moment before, in stereo, they sighed with relief and walked towards the forest. As soon as they stepped out of the Tesseract, however, a person appeared, sitting on an old wooden chest. The person was a young looking Japanese man. He had black hair that was simultaneously shaggy and spiky. He also flashed them a smile that was rather creepy to Ace and Delta.

"As I've said before, congratulations Ace and Delta, for managing to complete my little obstacle course. My name is L."

By god. It was him. Delta recognized this "L" as the same unnamed voice from the Tesseract.

"And, right in the chest beneath me, are your prizes, as a token of friendship." He stepped off of the chest and walked over to Delta, extending his hand. "No hard feelings, right big-"

Sadly, L never got to finish that sentence on account of Delta's fist slamming into his face so hard that he crashed into a nearby tree and splintered it in half. "L huh? I'll remember that name," said Delta. He walked over towards the chest and lifted it up onto his shoulder. "Oh, and by the way: thanks for the advice."

"No problemo!" L said, putting up his thumb as he lay atop the stump his body had made of the tree before promptly passing out.

**Ten Minutes Into The Forest**

"Shouldn't we open that?" Ace finally asked, gesturing at the chest Delta was still carrying over his shoulder just opposite where she perched on the other side.

Delta stopped short and blinked before setting both the chest and the small psychic down. "Didn't think about it."

The two took a moment to reason that, if L or Alma had wanted them seriously hurt or killed, they would have just let them die back in the Tesseract. Once it was agreed that it wasn't likely to have any particularly negative consequences, they took cover behind a fallen tree and Ace opened the chest telekinetically.

After nothing had happened for a full minute after the chest was opened, they cautiously approached it and peered inside. One side was marked with an Ace of Spades and the other with an odd, stylized SD. Ace lifted out the first item from her side and found it to be something like a circlet with a bright blue gem set in it.

Delta didn't need anything to tell him what was in his side. It was hard to mistake Plasmids for anything else. He quickly extracted the large hypodermic needles and examined them. The first was labeled: Incinerate Lvl4, the second: Electro Bolt Lvl4, and so on, one for each of his Plasmids.

Meanwhile, Ace cautiously set the circlet aside and pulled out a metal arm band that was something like a half gauntlet. Under the gauntlet was a note written in absurdly loopy script that read: I choose these for you. Signed: Alma Wade.

The circlet was based off "Protoss High Templar" equipment. It boosted psionic power overall by about fifteen percent. The 'gauntlet' was a shortcut for "Psi Blades". She knew all of this from the telepathic message the circlet was broadcasting.

Ace carefully placed the circlet on her head, positioning the gem in the center of her forehead, and slipped the gauntlet onto her right arm. A careful pulse of energy caused the armband to emit a brief flare of pale blue energy in the shape of a blade roughly three feet long.

Delta appeared less interested in using the Plasmids and more intent on intimidating them, Ace noted after carefully inspecting her new acquisitions.

"You're not expecting them to use themselves, are you?" she asked, drawing Delta's attention away from the innocent looking needles.

"No. I guess not," he said, smiling. "Well, might as well get it over with and see if these are filled with poison right away." With that, he began injecting himself with them and, after feeling no ill effects and putting his new plasmids to the test, the two continued down the curious road they were on. Curious because, now they noticed that the bricks that made it were solid gold.

**Planet Chimera: Earth Plains Sector**

For the third time in a row, Cole found himself with the lovely taste of dirt in his mouth. Though tracking Jensen had become easier after he had absorbed the Ionic Storm, eventually, the cyborg caught on to how Cole was able to hold his own with him and had discharged that same energy that made him light up like Empire City at nighttime. Not only that, but he had decided to increase his speed as well, turning the tables on Cole once again.

"Aw come on McGrath. Is that all you got? Don't tell me that blast core didn't give you anymore tricks. Knowing Alex, I'd be surprised if he wasn't generous with the cereal box prizes he likes to lend out."

"Okay then, let's see," Cole muttered, focusing on his powers and trying to find anything that felt different. It didn't take long to notice a pattern that hadn't been in his energy before. Suddenly, in a flash of light, Cole was surrounded by ten duplicates of himself composed entirely of energy. "Kessler-" He frowned slightly at gaining one of his future self's powers, but decided to ignore it for now and just use the ability.

The moment Cole thought of continuing the fight, the Doppelgangers charged forward, forming gigawatt blades of their own.

"See! If I had a credit for every time Alex went overboard with the presents-" Jensen said as he blocked three of the doppelganger gigawatt blades and kicked them away via the face. "-I'd have enough money to buy all the land in Lordaeron. Though, it's probably too soon to mention that place yet."

Cole ordered the duplicates to surround Jensen and run at him. For his part, the cyborg merely stood there, eyebrow raised. "Really Cole? Don't tell me you don't know how this is going to end."

Seeing the duplicates fire magnum bolts at him, Jensen sighed and jumped into the air, all ten of the bolts impacting upon each other and creating a cloud of dust beneath him. "What did I tell-"

It was then, as he descended toward the cloud, that he noticed the ten duplicates gathered beneath him, gigawatt blades pointed upwards to spear him like a flying fish. "Oh, so that's what we're playing. Alright."

Adam stopped in midair, an orange energy globe surrounding him before he plummeted back to the ground at high speed. The energy field of his flight system only just managed to repel the electrical blades aimed at him before he crashed to the ground in the center of the clustered energy constructs. At the moment of impact, Adam fired the Typhoon System, discharging a hail of explosives eight meters around in all directions and obscuring the area in a nearly solid dome of fire when the bombs detonated.

Cole felt the constructs disperse, he was somewhat disappointed that he didn't regain any of the energy he'd used to create them but decided it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The Conduit smirked at the cloud of smoke and continued focusing energy into both his hands. If Kessler could push an Overload Burst so far, then there was no reason he couldn't do the same.

Just as the smoke began clearing and Jensen called out to him from the small crater he was now standing in, Cole released the built up electricity and let the blast roar across the space between them. Adam blinked behind his lenses a split second before the blast hit him.

The massive surge of energy crashed into the canyon wall and actually detonated on impact. Cole estimated it to have been roughly ten times as powerful as an Alpha Rocket explosion just from how it felt in the air.

"Now I'm actually mildly impressed," Adam called to him as he walked out of the settling cloud of dust and debris. "Nearly a fully focused energy beam: borderline Kamehameha territory. I'm not setup to deal with that, just direct electrical attacks. Guess I can't afford to underestimate you even a bit now."

Cole barely had time to blink before Jensen was right in front of him. It was like fighting Kessler again all over again like that. He only just managed to block the whirling blades on Jensen's arms. To his own surprise however, it wasn't with his own gigawatt blades or the AMP. "So I got that back, huh? Cool."

Adam just shook his head and flipped back away from Cole and the shield that had sprung up to save him at the last second. "Instinctive defense won't save you every time. Better try to keep up."

Just as his opponent vanished again in a blur of speed, Cole felt a surge of anger from elsewhere. He'd never paid much attention to that aspect of his power except when it alerted him to an enemy he couldn't see or who was in disguise, but now, he couldn't ignore the pure malice in the strange energy field of the man Jensen had appeared with. "What's going on up-"

"Focus or die again, except as a pincushion instead of a martyr this time, MacGrath. Your choice," Adam announced himself just in time for Cole to partially avoid being impaled by one of his blades, though it still left a large cut in his side. He almost failed to roll backwards to avoid the second blade as it swept towards his face.

Cole flipped to his feet and used a blast to throw himself backward to put more distance between himself and the cyborg. Distance though, seemed to matter little to the man who had just vanished again.

"_Bolts don't work. Rockets aren't much better. Freeze wouldn't catch him and he'll just absorb another storm. Gigawatt blade isn't any good here and Overload Burst isn't-what did he say. Only _direct _electrical damage?" _Cole thought through his options while trying futilely to maintain some space between himself and Adam. "I'm gonna lose an arm."

Adam slowed again to make a slash at Cole's neck. To his surprise, the conduit didn't attempt to flee to a safe distance again. Instead he ducked and lunged forward. A fist connected with the cyborg's face and briefly stunned him. Before he could recover, Cole struck him again. Fists flying as fast as he could move his arms, Cole pummeled Adam relentlessly with pure _physical_ damage.

Cole finally jumped a short way back before dashing forward again, using a blast fired behind him to speed him toward his target and another blast to accelerate his last punch just before it connected with the seemingly dazed cyborg's face.

The orange lenses covering Adam's eyes completely shattered and he tumbled back across the ground several meters before stopping. He was motionless for only a few seconds before climbing back to his feet.

"Okay then, I can admit that was a very impressive turnaround." Adam coughed, wiping fragments of his lenses off his face and popping his neck. "If Alex hadn't improved all my augments, I'd be in pieces right now. You could have torn an armored car up with that easy. Let's just call this a draw and say you passed the test, agreed?"

Cole sent out a pulse. It came back marking Jensen as neutral. He hadn't really been hostile before according to the signals Cole had sent out earlier, but at least now, it didn't appear he was going to attack him any time soon. He nodded, still ready to continue his assault if need be.

**Meanwhile, Above the canyon.**

"UUUUHHHH!" John Marston cried out.

Smith glared down at the man while he recovered from the mental backlash of believing himself to have just been virtually incinerated while still alive.

The agent sneered as Marston began to regain his bearings and understand that he was in fact not dead...again. "How? How could you get through all of them without knowing...it's not possible for someone like you. You know as well as I do that you're no better than your former accomplices. You're every bit as depraved and savage as they were: just a rabid animal pretending to be a man."

Smith kicked him square in the jaw, sending him onto his back. "You and every pathetic pile of meat and bones and sweat that Alex decided to bring back from death's embrace."

He began to stomp down on Marston's stomach, each kick coming down harder and more swiftly than the last. "You disgust me so much that I'm going to have to burn my boots after I'm done turning your intestinal tract into-"

"Smith!" Adam shouted at his co-worker as he and Cole returned to the top of the canyon. "If he passed your test then it's over! We're not supposed to try to kill them!"

"Stay out of this, Jensen. The only reason I even tolerate you is that you're mostly machine, but don't think that exempts you from-"

Adam sighed in relief when Smith was blown away from Marston. Normally, having far higher clearance would mean he was easily able to deal with the Agent, but right now he was far more limited than usual. "Glad you could make it, Shamshir."

"Perhaps I should have arrived sooner," the dark skinned warrior remarked, nodding to Adam. "Smith, none of us were instructed to kill those we were to test. Explain yourself."

Smith, already back on his feet, snarled at the woman. "I don't have to explain myself to you, human."

"No, you do not. But you do answer to Alex the same as the rest of us. His instructions were clear. You have willfully disobeyed your orders." Shamshir shifted her stance, just slightly, only Adam and Cole noticed.

"He made a mistake bringing more trash here, organic life-"

"Alex himself began as a fully organic being, or so he says. Do you consider him trash as well?" Shamshir's eyes flashed dangerously as she interrupted the data entity.

A gun appeared in Smith's hand, aiming for Marston. He never got the chance to pull the trigger. In a blur of motion Cole thought may have exceeded Jensen's dashes during their fight, Shamshir was behind Smith and he was disintegrating, a thin white line marking where the woman's sword had passed through him.

Shamshir sheathed her sword and walked over to John. "I apologize for Smith's actions. Truly, I do not understand why Alex chooses to keep him. Hold still."

John, even if he hadn't been choking on blood, wasn't planning on arguing with her. A pale green light emanated from her palms as she passed them over his torso and then his face.

After his wounds were healed she passed him a bottle of water obtained from thin air. Cole, keeping his eyes on both Shamshir and Adam, knelt down next to his companion and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You going to be alright cowboy?"

"I'll live."

"I am glad to hear it," said Shamshir before politely bowing towards John and Cole. "Adam: once you are done bestowing your reward upon them, report back to Alex. He has an assignment for you in Universe-616."

Jensen nodded and, with that, Shamshir disappeared. Turning towards John and Cole, he said, "Right. You heard the lady. I gotta go," Jensen said, a simple metal lockbox appearing at his feet. "For being able to hold up to me and Smith, here's what you get. I hope you two think what you get now was worth it and I hope to see you around sometime. Who knows?"

He disappeared, a voice in both of their heads saying, "_We might just save a planet or two together."_

"Well, that happened," Cole said, glancing at John. "Think it's safe to open that thing?"

"Couldn't say. This place hasn't seemed all that safe so far. Those two at least didn't seem really hostile though, least not like that Smith character. Benefit of the doubt?"

"Alright, but let's stick back here. It could still explode and I'm not testing Polarity Wall that far just yet," Cole said, flicking his right hand toward the box. A partially charged bolt broke the lock and a kinetic pulse lifted the lid. Nothing happened for a moment and Cole grunted. "No boom. that's a good sign. Usually..."

John nodded and let the Conduit help him to his feet. "Unless of course you're aiming to blow something up, anyway."

The pair carefully approached the box and examined its contents. Their attention was completely diverted from the Tomahawk and the slip of paper beneath it over to a large glowing chunk of stone.

"What the devil's that? Looks like that, whatchya-ma-call-it, Blast Core?" John glanced to Cole who nodded. "Yeah, like that Blast Core thing, but it's…"

"Not a Blast Core. Too small, wrong shape, would never fit in a Ray Sphere. Energy's different too. It feels like...a Blast Shard? But, it can't be. Theres WAY too much power in one place..." Cole muttered, looking suspiciously at the irradiated stone in the box.

"Well, not much else I can do," Cole said, groaning. "If this kills me, I'd advise leaving the box alone."

The superhuman cautiously reached down and lifted the stone out of the box. The faint, fluctuating light surrounding the rock flared to near blinding for a split second before the stone itself crumbled away and the energy surged into Cole's body, knocking him off his feet.

Cole lay on the ground for several seconds, twitching and gasping as his body adjusted to the surge of power. When the instability subsided he sat up slowly, a hand going to his face. "I've got to stop touching glowing shit."

John was already kneeling beside him, mirroring Cole's position from not even five minutes prior. "You gonna live, MacGrath?"

"Probably."

Getting back to their feet, Cole dusting himself off, the two stood away from each other.

"So, that mean you've got some new…power from that thing?" John asked, tilting his head and ready to hit the dirt if necessary.

"Don't know," Cole answered, focusing on his energy again to see if something had changed. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed to find no new patterns in his power. "Nope, don't know-Oh, wow."

"What?" John asked, tired of the suspense.

"No new powers but, I got another old one back. I think a few other things are back too," Cole commented, grinning slightly at the effect that 'Super' Blast Shard had had. "Also, got back a lot of power I lost once, back when I first fought The Beast, energy to use more advanced powers, and I've got a lot more juice to work with now."

"Juice?" John raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Never mind," Cole waved off the question for the moment.

Getting up, John took a few tentative steps towards the lockbox to investigate the Tomahawk and the slip of paper. Getting a feel for the weight of the Indian war axe, he then picked up the paper with his right hand and scratched his head through his hat with the Tomahawk. "What the hell's this here gibberish? Can't make heads or tales of this."

"Heads or tails of what?" Cole asked, walking up behind him.

"See fer yourself."

John handed Cole the paper and decided to see how the Tomahawk felt in his left hand. Before too long, Cole was twisting it around in all sorts of angles trying to make sense of it before he too scratched his head with his own melee weapon.

"Welp, I've got nothing except that these symbol thingies look Scandinavian, probably Norse, and that if it was in that box, we probably shouldn't throw it away."

Cole looked up from the paper, though, when he heard John decide to up and throw the Tomahawk towards a nearby tree. It slammed into it's trunk...and the trunk after that and the trunk after that and the trunk after that until, finally, at about the sixth tree, it finally came to a stop.

"Well I'll be damned! Well...more than I suppose I already am," said John.

Cole whistled and said, "Ditto on that cowboy! Something like that's gonna come in REAL handy."

"Ditto?"

"Never mind," Cole said, stuffing the piece of Norse paper into one of his pockets. "Now, let's go get that Tomahawk of yours and keep moving. We don't need any other weirdos coming along to try and "test us" for loitering."

**End of Episode.  
><strong>

**Next Time: Nathan Hale and Rachel the Fiend Hunter Vs Dinosaurs.  
><strong>

**Alec Mason meets Rubi Malone and Faith Connors.**

**Other Things!**

**Technically this isn't finished. I really planned on more to happen and I was actually expecting to finish the next Project Crusade chapter before uploading this but I lost the motivation to work on that temporarily. Neither thing is abandoned but I'd be lying if I said I would be updating anything regularly.**


End file.
